See also the Youth Employment Forum
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After Kickstart: the employer’s role in supporting people into work by Centre for Decent Work and Productivity, Manchester Metropolitan University
A free discussion and networking event for Greater Manchester employers. A chance to share experiences and hear about new research
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ERSA Kickstart Report: Extend, Expand and Empower!
http://ersa.org.uk/media/news/ersa-kickstart-report-extend-expand-and-empower
On Wednesday 1 December at 10am, the ERSA Kickstart Community Forum will be joined by Joshua Reddaway from the National Audit Office to discuss their own report findings. Register for a teams joining link here.
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DWP Update: 5 tips to fill your Kickstart vacancy swiftly and successfully
The sector speaks: Kickstart is working and should be extended
- 05/10/2021 - 'Plan for Jobs' skills and employment programmes: information for employers
- 04/10/2021 - £500 million Plan for Jobs Expansion
Important updates about Kickstart Scheme
Applications to the Kickstart Scheme are closing soon.
After 17 December 2021 you will not be able to:
- apply for a new Kickstart Scheme grant
- add more jobs to an existing grant agreement
DWP will process applications submitted before this time or that are already in progress.
Learn more about the Kickstart Scheme closure.
Getting young people into the Kickstart Scheme jobs
Page summary: Changes to your existing Kickstart Scheme jobs that you need to tell DWP about and how to create more Kickstart Scheme jobs before 17 December 2021.
Apply for a Kickstart Scheme grant through a Kickstart gateway
Page summary: If you’re an employer looking to create jobs for young people, you can apply for funding until 17 December 2021 through a Kickstart gateway.
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Find past Kickstart events and updates on ERSA's YouTube Channel here.
The next meeting is on 3 November at 10am
Ways to join meetings
- If you have access to the Kickstart Community Teams Chat, you can join directly there at the time of the meeting.
- Register via Eventbrite for the joining link and reminders HERE
Next forum dates
3 November, 1 December 2021, 12 January , 9 February, 9 March 2022 all at 10am - 12pm.
See also, the Youth Employment Forum page.
Shared resources and information
Thank you to Citizens Advice Greater Manchester for sharing some great examples of flyers for advertising Kickstart roles. These have been created using Canva, a free marketing tool (https://www.canva.com/). Download this and other example flyers for inspiration here.
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Regional platforms for advertising Kickstart roles!
Kickstart roles in West Midlands
https://www.youthemployment.org.uk/kickstart-your-career/
Kickstart roles in Liverpool City Region
https://youthhub.be-more.info/kickstart/
Send your vacancies to ERSA for inclusion on the ASK SETH directory for jobseekers and learners and ERSA members can also advertise 'Employability Jobs' free of charge here.
Kickstart Vacancy Data
Watch a short video from Jacob Hill, Managing Director, Offploy CIC. Offploy is an approved Gateway with almost 500 placements reviews the data of 10 gateways on their custom-built Kickstart Admin Platform to identify trends and make suggestions to fill / gain new placements on the programme.
To compare your gateway performance with our group's average or to have a look around the system, please book a demo here
New instructions for gateway organisations
FAQs for the Kickstart Scheme
Together the community has come together, supporting one another by sharing good practice, resources, answering questions and problem solving. If you have a question about Kickstart, you may find it here via the Frequently asked questions. If you do not find an answer to your question please raise it with the team at [email protected].
Most commonly asked questions
Does the grant payment include VAT?
What happens if the placement doesn't work out for either the young person or the employer?
Who do I get in touch with if I have a query about an existing application or grant?
Can ESF participants be referred to the Kickstart Scheme?
You can also view and share the FAQs page directly using the following link https://ersa.org.uk/kickstartfaqs.
Join the conversation
The Kickstart Community Forum is open to all organisations interested in making the scheme work. If you would like to contribute to the community page by sharing resources like templates, links to services or solutions, have an idea for a blog or future agenda item that would be of interest please get in touch with the ERSA Team via [email protected].
Register for the next meeting - If you have attended a previous forum meeting, and have access to the teams chat, you can join directly there, saving the date to your calendar. If you have not attended before, please register via the ERSA eventbrite page.
Contribute to a future agenda, or tell us who you want to hear from by emailing the ERSA Team via [email protected]
Next forum dates are 6 October, 3 November and 1 December 2021 all at 10am - 12pm.
Full details, latest updates can be found at gov.uk.
Find past Kickstart events and updates on ERSA's YouTube Channel here
ERSA writes open letter to the chancellor calling for extension to Kickstart
The Kickstart scheme should be extended beyond December 2021, ideally to the end of 2022, and the scheme’s eligibility requirements widened to help support more young people. see ERSA's open letter on behalf of the Kickstart Community Forum to the chancellor supporting this in FE News here
More support for an extension to the Scheme
Five reasons to extend Kickstart from the Youth Employment Group
Extend Kickstart scheme deadline by six months - CBI President
What good looks like for Young People
- Our eight core principles for the Kickstart Scheme, read more
- Call for Job Opportunity Guarantee
- Good Youth Employment Charter And 1000 Opportunities Campaign Launched September 2020 Read more
- GMCA on The GM Young Person’s Guarantee
- London Councils, boroughs and the Greater London Authority have drafted a short guide for promoting high-quality placements through the Kickstart scheme, read more.
- The TUC have called for Kickstart to deliver: Good quality jobs with training built in; Additional jobs of real value to the community; The programme must be based on equality from the start and Employers should top up wages read more
- The Young Person's Guarantee commits to supporting all of Scotland's young people to have a bright and prosperous future.The Young Person's Guarantee offers all young people between 16 to 24 the opportunity of: An apprenticeship; Fair employment - including work experience; Taking part in formal volunteering programmes; Training or Going to uni or college
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The Youth Employment Group’s Levelling up for Young People: Building a Young Person’s Guarantee
Shared resources
Please note, resources shared here, particularly DWP templates may not be the most up to date are intended to act as a guide to aid applications and further support for employers and gateways. Do check latest versions, through official sources like gov.uk, your DWP Kickstart District Account Manager, or your gateway organisation. Please help the ERSA Team by informing us if something is out of date or missing and we will endeavour to correct.
Note: the following documents have been provided by our Kickstart community, not officially through DWP
Gateway remittance advice example
Vacancy template (word document)
Kickstart Scheme – Grant Offer Letter for Gateways
Variation Template - Grant Agreement Addition Gateway (word document)
The Kickstart Vacancy Template – A completion guide
Kickstart District Account Managers - not currently available as a full list
Mencap presentation – making Kickstart inclusive
Mencap – Kickstart scheme outline
Mencap is a learning disability charity and Kickstart gateway organisation
Arriva - Example of travel voucher schemes
Arriva - Presentation slides
Mike Kent, Arriva (8 April)
Introducing the Essential Skills Academy for Young People
Presentation slides
Rosa Morgan-Baker, Director of Development, Skills Academy (8 April)
Related content and announcements
World Youth Skills Day (15 July 2021)!
CALL FOR ACTION: The sector speaks: Kickstart is working and should be extended
HR Magazine: https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/content/features/kickstart-scheme-six-months-on
ERSA responds to 25 January Kickstart announcement
Kickstart Scheme opens for employer applications on 2 September
£2bn package announced on 8 July as part of the governments ‘Plan for Jobs’
Please use the Frequently asked questions log to search for previously answered questions.