News Tag: kickstart

ERSA Kickstart Report: Extend, Expand and Empower!

Over the past 14 months, ERSA has mobilised a community of 434 organisations invested in realising the benefits of the Kickstart scheme.

Our Kickstart forum of experienced youth services providers and employability experts have worked extensively with the Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentre Plus to support the implementation and delivery of Kickstart. They have drawn on long standing employer relationships to create openings for young people; risked reputational damage; and invested time, resource, and enthusiasm into making Kickstart work.

This forum is a genuine Community of Good Practice.

The ERSA Kickstart forum has recommended changes throughout the Kickstart journey, drawing on years of industry experience. We continue to call for an extension to the Kickstart scheme in response to crippling labour market shortages and are currently presenting further recommendations to government colleagues to enhance and derestrict the scheme.

Our Policy Paper is based on a recent survey of the Community of Good Practice and one to one interviews

Read the full report

Our intension in writing this paper is to ensure that Kickstart delivers the best offer for young jobseekers, and that ERSA supports of Community of Good Practice who have invested in Kickstart and have so much to offer.

If you would like to discuss this with the team, we can be contacted at policy@ersa.org.uk

The ERSA Policy Team
Employment Related Services Association (ERSA)

Elizabeth Taylor
Dr Andrew Morton
Henry Foulkes

The sector speaks: Kickstart is working and should be extended

Kickstart Key Messages

Kickstart gives otherwise unobtainable work opportunities to young people.
Feedback from employers is overwhelmingly positive.
Gateways are driving up successful outcomes.
The employability sector calls again for a Kickstart extension.

A collective of employers and employment support organisations, brought together as a Kickstart Community Forum by ERSA – the Employment Related Services Association – states that young people are being recruited into meaningful jobs through Kickstart and calls again for Chancellor Rishi Sunak to announce an extension to the scheme on or before the government’s next spending review.

Government figures show an average of 400 young people a day started work in May, with over 200,000 new high quality jobs created via the Kickstart scheme.

ERSA’s Kickstart Forum comprises almost 800 people from more than 470 organisations and is a community of good practice, committed to realising the benefits of the Kickstart scheme for young workers.

The creation of varied roles across a wide range of sectors is being reported. Many of the industries benefitting most from young Kickstart talent are those adversely affected by the pandemic such as the creative and arts industries; and enterprises delivering social good to communities. These industries are embracing young people’s creative skills, talents and interests in an ever-more-digital working world.

Feedback on new recruits from Kickstart employers is overwhelmingly positive, while the role of Kickstart Gateways in helping the right employers and the right young people find each other is proving a substantial factor in driving up successful outcomes.

David Hinton, Director of Impact and Innovation, Supply Train CIC and Kickstart Gateway said:
“Young people want and need to work, but many haven’t had the opportunity to do so. We see so many enthusiastic, determined candidates that have either been stopped in their career tracks by the pandemic, or need the right kind of employability support to make the breakthrough into work. Kickstart is opening new vacancies and accessing funding to enable that, and long must it continue. Being supported into work has a hugely positive impact on young people’s mental wellbeing and is an injection of fresh ideas and outlook for any employer.”

Supply Train CIC have 499 live vacancies for young people and 251 job starts!
https://supplytrain.co.uk/kickstart-gateway/

Terry Galloway, Director, Norman Galloway Homes and Kickstart Gateway said:
“With 50% of the prison population and a quarter of homeless young people from Care. Terry Galloway who is care experienced and lived in over 100 places by the time he left has now created a Kickstart Gateway and is aiming to use this as an opportunity to demonstrate to government and the care review how a scheme such as this can really benefit care leavers integrate into the community and break the cycle of care. Terry says “The Kickstart scheme is one of the best policies to come out of government that will really go a long way to help those marginalised.”

Norman Galloway Homes have created 120 placements so far with 30 opportunities for young people already filled.
https://normangallowayhomes.co.uk/

Alison Moore, Performance and Quality Coordinator, Futureworks, Pembrokeshire County Council and both Kickstart Employer and Gateway said:

“The best aspect of Kickstart is seeing and hearing about the young people in their roles. They are full of enthusiasm and keen to learn new skills. Employers have been feeding back really positive experiences and finding the young people really helpful in a range of different areas. The process of being able to see young people through the application / interview stage and on into their work also allows a unique opportunity to see where their strengths and weaknesses lie in terms of employability skills so we can build this into the employability development sessions.”

Futureworks have created almost 200 roles across Pembrokeshire with 51 positions filled so far, with more applications arriving daily!
https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/apprenticeships-and-training

Chantel Hampton, Employment & Training Development Manager, Clarion Housing Group and both Kickstart Gateway and Employer said:
“It has been fantastic to see Kickstart employees join both our business and our gateway partners over the last month or so. We are now seeing the benefit of Kickstart first-hand and how much of a positive impact these opportunities can have, not only on the young people being placed but on our businesses and managers alike. We continue to work incredibly closely with DWP colleagues to promote our vacancies from both a national and local perspective and our partners are pro-actively doing the same which has really helped in engaging candidates.“

Clarion Housing Group set up a Kickstart Housing Partnership, now with 395 live, open roles which is increasing daily as new roles are approved and added. Since the beginning of May, 54 young people have started placements across the partnership and will see another 19 join over the coming weeks. There has been a steady increase week on week and the housing group continue to work closely with partners and local JCP’s to promote vacancies.

ERSA Chief Executive Elizabeth Taylor added: “Kickstart Forum members have achieved laudable success in the past nine months, but there is so much more we could do to contribute to launching young people’s careers. We responded immediately to Kickstart and continue to do so, working with the DWP’s Kickstart policy and implementation leads.

“Despite any ongoing DWP delays and process challenges, there is genuine enthusiasm from the employability industry, employers and young people themselves to continue to reap the benefits of Kickstart: it needs to run throughout 2022 to get maximum value from the billions invested and effect real change to the prospects of young jobseekers.”

Read ERSA’s open letter (Feb 21) to the Chancellor requesting a Kickstart extension: https://www.fenews.co.uk/fevoices/63927-ersa-open-letter-employability-leaders-amplify-call-for-kickstart-extension

Support the call for an extension to the Kickstart Scheme in the following ways;

Write to your local MP
Download a template letter, find and write to your local MP including your job placements starts and successes
Support on social media by sharing the article in FE News here
https://www.fenews.co.uk/press-releases/69538-the-sector-speaks-kickstart-is-working-and-should-be-extended
Use and adapt one of our suggested posts for social media, blogs and newsletters
1. Nine months into its operation, the government’s Kickstart scheme continues to give otherwise unobtainable work opportunities to young people. Over 200,000 high quality jobs have been created for unemployed 16-24 year olds thanks to Kickstart
2. Since its launch in September 2020, the government’s Kickstart scheme has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the employers who choose to be part of it. Businesses of all sizes are praising the scheme’s positive impact on both their company and on the mental wellbeing of the young people who find employment through it.
3. Kickstart Gateways are the driving force behind many of the Kickstart scheme’s successful outcomes, helping thousands of unemployed 16-24 year olds to find the right employer for them.
4. Overwhelming success of the government’s Kickstart scheme is pushing the employability sector to call again for an extension to the scheme. With an average of 400 young people per day starting work in May, an extension until December 2022 would offer thousands more 16-24 year olds the opportunity to gain employment.
Tag and mention ERSA in your responses
1. ERSA Twitter
2. ERSA Linkedin
3. Use the hashtags #ExtendKickstart #KickstartScheme #Kickstart

Join ERSA’s Kickstart Community Forum, the next meeting is on 2 June at 10am, for more information on the Kickstart Scheme visit https://ersa.org.uk/kickstart.

For media enquiries and interviews please contact policy@ersa.org.uk.

Young Empowerment Fund: Funding for 16-25 year olds in East Midlands

Applications are open for young people aged 16 – 25 years old, who are based in the East Midlands to apply for a £500 bursary.

The Young Empowerment Fund invites young people to think of an idea for a creative project that will help with their personal development, develops their skills, and shares their creative voice.

Alongside the bursary, each participant will be offered a package of online support as part of the programme to help them with the delivery of their project. The programme runs from July 2021 until early December 2021 and all projects should be delivered by this end date.

For further information about the Young Empowerment Fund, and for information on how to apply via an online form, please visit the following website: https://themightycreatives.com/what-we-do/programmes/young-empowerment-fund/

The deadline for applications is Tuesday 15th June at 9am.

The Mighty Creatives are a member of the Kickstart Community Forum.

Open letter to chancellor requesting extension to kickstart

An open letter citing the need for an extension to the Kickstart youth employability scheme has been signed by leading members of sector trade body ERSA. The statement, published below, calls on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to extend the programme to December 2022.

ERSA comprises hundreds of organisations tasked with delivering services to Kickstart participants. Almost 800 people from more than 470 organisations contribute to ERSA’s Kickstart Forum.

The letter, in full, reads as follows:

Dear Chancellor,

On 8th July 2020 you announced that “a new £2 billion Kickstart Scheme will be launched to create hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people across the country.” This came as a welcome investment by all of us in the employment support sector, we know the value and importance of creating new jobs for young people at a time when jobs are hard to come by.

On 2nd September 2020, the Department for Work and Pensions launched the scheme.

On 4th September ERSA launched the Kickstart Forum, a community of good practice of employment support organisations who are now Kickstart Gateways, employers, and provide wrap around support to achieve positive long-term outcomes. 796 people from 472 organisations participate in the ERSA Kickstart Forum with an ongoing collaborative online “chat” sharing good practice and problem solving. The ERSA Forum has worked with the DWP, with the department’s policy and Kickstart implementation leads attending ERSA Forums. This is the Kickstart collaboration that responded to Kickstart immediately and continues to do so. The forum members have achieved results and successes, but there is so much more we could do to contribute to launching young people’s careers.

This is why the ERSA Kickstart Forum supports the call from the Youth Employment Group for an extension to Kickstart. To reinforce our message of support we would like to share our experience of working to make Kickstart a success.

Kickstart is one of the largest employment programmes in recent history and it has been launched during an economic and health crisis. There have been real challenges rolling out the scheme in the expected timeframe and restrictions on businesses that have delayed opportunities getting to young people. It is because of these circumstances, and a firm belief in the potential of the scheme to transform lives and drive business recovery, that we are calling for you to extend Kickstart to December 2022.

Delays in implementing the scheme and ongoing restrictions on the economy due to Covid has resulted in Kickstart roles being approved later than expected, jobs being advertised later, and employees starting work through Kickstart later. The scheme is already four months behind schedule, and with both Covid restrictions and implementation challenges an extension to the scheme will ensure Kickstart is able to deliver the intended new jobs.

The employment support sector knows there is never a quick fix for those at the back of the queue. Research shows how the ‘recovery years’ are not experienced by all. Recessions are longer and deeper for young people. Kickstart needs to run throughout 2022 to get maximum value from the billions invested.

Businesses in the ERSA community of good practice are now filling the first vacancies – in February 2021. An extension to the end of 2022 will enable these Gateways to deliver the jobs they had planned for the lifetime of Kickstart. The first jobs started later than expected and the potential of Kickstart should not be restricted by an end in December 2021.

Kickstart has the potential to increase apprenticeship numbers by stimulating employer demand and opening-up access to previously disenfranchised young people. Several employers are commencing Kickstart placements in March 2021 with the aim of taking these young people into their September apprenticeship intake; extending Kickstart would enable this to happen twice and could help turn the tide on the lack of apprenticeships going to NEET young people.

More time is required to create strategic alignment with Government objectives. Thousands more new jobs are needed in key sectors which so far have not been able to respond to Kickstart at scale. More time for partnerships to develop could create, for instance, 1,000s of new jobs in the green economy, social care, and education. Kickstart can play a key role not only in the economic recovery, but also in other strategic objectives like Building Back Better, Levelling Up and the Green Industrial Revolution. The ERSA Forum has convened a smaller working group to support the development of these ideas and we ask for your support to enable this work to come to fruition.

It is because of the circumstances we have outlined, and a firm belief in the potential of the scheme to transform lives and drive business recovery, that we are calling for you to extend Kickstart to December 2022, in line with the YEG paper recently published here

https://youthfuturesfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/YEG-new.pdf

Members of the ERSA Kickstart Forum, and the wider network of ERSA members have given their backing to this request and their signatures are appended to this letter.

Yours sincerely

Elizabeth Taylor, Chief Executive of ERSA

Please see the original article featured in FE News on 22 February 2020 including the appended list of signatories to the Chancellor here.

The Kickstart Community Forum

Part of the Youth Employment Forum. This community forum brings together employers, gateways, change makers, commissioners and others interested in getting Kickstart right for young people. The ERSA Kickstart Community Forum meets monthly and you can find out more here.

ERSA Kickstart Roundtable with the DWP

UPDATE MONDAY 14 SEPTEMBER: Expression of Interest for Potential Intermediaries

The DWP will be publishing a list of organisations who are interested in supporting small and medium size businesses and charities who have fewer than 30 jobs to offer is planned. The list can be used by this group of employers to find suitable intermediary organisations who can support their application.

If you are interested in participating as an intermediary, and are happy for the DWP to publish your contact details online, please return this completed form to kickstart.interest@dwp.gov.uk by 4pm on 16 September 2020.

Access the Expression of Interest here (closed)

https://ersa.org.uk/kickstartintermediaries

UPDATE: Kickstart collaborations at a local level

ERSA has been asked to build local Kickstart partnerships by collating interest at a local level and facilitating introductions. In order to do this we need you to send us the details of which Jobcentres you would cover, and whether you want to be an Intermediary, a Kickstart employer and/or provide employment support to Kickstart participants.

More information on how to get involved is here https://ersa.org.uk/kickstartlocal

UPDATE MONDAY 7 SEPTEMBER: The intermediary process has evolved slightly since Friday and it is now possible for organisations to bid if you have thirty jobs over the lifetime of the scheme. So you might put in a bid for five but outline another 25 jobs for the future. This would then count as thirty making it possible for you to act as an intermediary.

UPDATE TUESDAY 8 SEPTEMBER: Q&A log and other resources via dropbox
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/s2juu49drgwxbod/AACQKh-XHhwNMI3VHcYRWL_3a?dl=0

Thank you for those of you that joined us on at the virtual roundtable on Friday 4 September. Please note, there are no accompanying slides but further information is included below. If you have additional questions that have are still unanswered and would like to field those through ERSA, please send them to us at events@ersa.org.uk.

Watch/listen again here
https://youtu.be/PmNCC0NYQ6M

Please subscribe to ERSA’s YouTube channel for other content via https://bitly.com/ERSAYouTube

Please complete ERSA Partnerships survey here https://ersa.org.uk/partnerships to join in future collaboration and community response. We will gauge interest and share the link to the virtual meeting via the contacts signed up here.

SAVE THE DATE: The next Kickstart meeting will take place on 29 September, 2-5pm.

Discussion points:

1. Preparing young people for Kickstart, existing provision and what else is needed

2. Creating Kickstart job opportunities, local and national initiatives

3. The role of intermediaries providing wrap around support

4. Employer engagement for progression to a sustained job

5. How Kickstart fits with other provisions (WHP, JETS, IPES, BBO etc)

6. Ensuring there is no displacement of jobs, community benefit

7. Who else should the employment support sector be working with

8. A Kickstart conference – confirming the date.

The Kickstart Scheme opened this week, on 2 September and further information is below.

The DWP has produced A Guide for Employers and there is a page for young people on the jobhelp website here.

Key points:

On top of the wage subsidy, £1,500 per job placement available for setup costs, support and training
Applications are for minimum 30 job placements. Employers can partner with other orgs to reach the minimum number.
If your organisation is creating more than 30 job placements as part of the #Kickstart Scheme, you can submit your application directly here https://www.apply-kickstart-grant-employer.service.gov.uk
If your organisation is creating fewer than 30 Kickstart job placements, you must partner with others which could include:
- similar employers
- local authorities
- trade bodies
- registered charities

If you are a representative applying on behalf of a group of employers, you can get £300 of funding to support associated admin costs. More information about being a representative is here

The Kickstart Scheme
The Kickstart Scheme is a £2 billion fund to create hundreds of thousands of high quality 6-month work placements for young people aged 16-24, who are claiming Universal Credit.

Employers of all sizes looking to create quality jobs for young people can apply. Through the scheme, all organisations across the private, public and voluntary sectors will be able to access a large pool of young people with potential, ready for an opportunity.

The Government will fully fund each ‘Kickstart’ job – paying 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus the associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions. There will also be funding available to support young people to develop new skills and to help them move into sustained employment after they have completed their Kickstart Scheme funded job.

You can find further information on the Kickstart Scheme at www.gov.uk/kickstart.

Read our 8 core messages for the Kickstart Scheme
https://ersa.org.uk/media/news/our-8-core-messages-kickstart-scheme

Our 8 core messages for the Kickstart Scheme

This is a very significant – but one-off – intervention in the labour market. It provides the opportunity to support the life chances of hundreds of thousands of young people who otherwise may be scarred by long-term unemployment, but also to drive forward a range of other government commitments – supporting local industrial strategies, delivering the aspiration of the 25 year environment plan and levelling up opportunity in left-behind areas.

Underpinning Kickstart with some core values and ensuring it incentivises job creation in the social, civic and SME sectors will ensure the investment works as hard as it can and helps to grow emerging markets which will help sustain the jobs created. It will also minimize the risk of government funding short-term cheap labour or contributing to job displacement.

Our eight core messages are as follows:

jobs should not displace other jobs, they should add maximum social and environmental value to the Covid recovery, to communities as well as aligning or adding to wider strategic government, regional and local development aims – including supporting sectors that will need to transform the way they operate in light of the pandemic
proactive steps should be taken at a local level to ensure those young people most in need of the ‘kickstart’ are able to access and benefit from the opportunity – who gets the opportunities is as important as creating the right opportunities
priority should be on job creation in sectors that build community wealth, de-carbonise the economy, promote nature recovery, contribute to our longer-term health, housing, care and cultural and creative needs. Innovative partnerships should be encouraged to help facilitate and lead in an area or sector
good employer support will create scale, quality and aid retention of young employees – local coalitions of businesses supported by intermediaries will stimulate job creation, ambition for scale and retention
young people will need support – their needs are varied and the support they need is often best served with quality wrap around provision; this needs to be built into the way funds are allocated. It also helps when things go wrong, for example the employer unexpectedly makes redundancies, there must be the built-in ability to preserve the opportunity, to transfer a Kickstart job
young people must have choice in the Kickstart jobs they apply for, they are not being ‘sent’ to a job, they are applying for a job and they are able to decide if the opportunity is right for them. Equally, the employer conducts a recruitment process that gives them choice about who they offer a job to.
employers need to be supported to offer full time jobs; many young people who need the job the most can’t sustain themselves on 25 hours per week (childcare, rent, transport costs)
proactive support will help prevent young people returning to benefits at 6 months; locally managed, onward progression to the next job or opportunity will raise retention levels (e.g. promotion, being taken on permanently, returning to education or training or an apprenticeship with the employer or another employer)

Kickstart should welcome and prioritise proposals that are coordinated locally or nationally to match the supply and demand between employers and young people, that help young people and employers access the support they need to make jobs accessible, rewarding and sustainable and that a provide a route to engage employers who might otherwise struggle to engage in sectors that need support now, and will be vital to the social, economic and environmental fabric of our country in the future.

Co-signed;

Tracy Fishwick OBE, Managing Director, Transform Lives Company
Graham Duxbury, CEO, Groundwork UK
Elizabeth Taylor, Chief Executive, Employment Related Services Association (ERSA)
Tony Wilson, Director, Institute of Employment Studies (IES)
Martin Bright, CEO, the Creative Society
Derri Burdon, CEO, Curious Minds
John Westby, Head of Funding Raising and Business Development, Clarion Housing
Lynsey Sweeney, Managing Director, Communities that Work
Jasbir Jhas, Senior Adviser, Employment and Skills, Local Government Association (LGA)
Matt Browne, Advocacy Lead, Wildlife and Countryside Link
Erika Rushton, Creative Economist, Kindred
Mark Norbury, CEO, Unltd

ERSA Responds to Today’s Kickstart Announcement

With the sector ERSA has worked on the response to make Kickstart a success – by developing Gateways, employment opportunities, wrap around support and building a community of good practice through our forum.

Since September ERSA has made representations about the sector’s ideas to make Kickstart work – based on experience of previous delivery, previous recessions, working with young people and lots of new brilliant ideas. ERSA will continue to reach out with solutions.

ERSA will deliver a special briefing for Kickstart Community Forum members on Friday 29 January at 10am to update on the recent changes to the scheme. DWP have provided some FAQs that relate to the announcement. Join the meeting via the ERSA Kickstart Community Chat or email us at events@ersa.org.uk.

DWP messaging

What is the Kickstart Scheme?

The Kickstart Scheme is an ambitious £2bn employment programme for young people with the potential to create hundreds of thousands of jobs for 16-24 year olds who are currently on Universal Credit, and at risk of long-term unemployment. Roles provided through the scheme are more than just jobs, and employers must also provide practical training and skills that will help the young person’s future. We provide a single payment of £1,500 per Kickstart to support start-up costs and to contribute towards employability support.

Since the Scheme’s launch in September, there are already 120,000 Kickstart jobs that would not exist without the scheme.

What is changing today?

We are making it easier for employers of all sizes to benefit from joining the scheme, by removing the limit requiring they create a minimum of 30 vacancies in order to be able to apply directly. We have made this change because we know that this threshold was a barrier to making an application for many employers. This will allow us to bring on board a greater number of employers, creating many more exciting opportunities for young people.

Employers who want support to get involved with the scheme can continue to partner with one of our many Gateway organisations such as a Local Authority or Chamber of Commerce. Gateways can help provide a local connection and the necessary wrap around support which is a hallmark of Kickstart. DWP welcomes existing Gateways continuing to apply to add more jobs and employers over the life of the scheme.

Since applications opened in September, there are now more than 600 approved gateways covering many sectors and all parts of the country. With so many Gateways already approved, we are closing applications for new Gateways from 23:59 on Wednesday 27 January. If we identify any emerging gaps where employers need more support, we may invite further applications.

How can you get involved?

Employers of all sizes and from all sectors – including the charity sector and social enterprises – are being encouraged to sign up as the government redoubles its efforts to create jobs for young people.

Further information

Kickstart Community Forum

Check out the Community Forum page for more information and resources relating to Kickstart Scheme, including latest FAQs document (25 January)
https://ersa.org.uk/kickstart

Survey of care experienced young people – apprenticeships and the national minimum wage

Learning and Work Institute is undertaking new research on behalf of the Department for Education, to explore care leavers views of apprenticeships.

As part of this work we are running an online survey. The survey includes questions on both reasons for doing an apprenticeship and barriers to apprenticeships, the impact of the apprentice national minimum wage and the types of financial support that care leavers need to ensure apprenticeships are an option for them. Even if a young person has not completed an apprenticeship, we would still really like to hear from them.

Young people’s responses to the survey are really important in helping us understand how apprenticeships can be more accessible to people who have spent time in care. Also, as a thank you for their time, we will be offering the first 100 care leavers who complete this survey a £10 gift voucher, and anyone who completes the survey and is not within the first 100 will be entered into a prize draw to win one of two £50 prizes. The survey will take around 15 minutes to complete.

The survey is now live, please could you share this link with the care leavers that you work with – tinyurl.com/681gxsx8

During the next stages of the research Learning and Work Institute are keen to interview professionals who work directly with care leavers, to get their views about how accessible apprenticeships are for care leavers. If you’d be interested in taking part in a short interview, please get in touch with Nicola Aylward, Head of Learning for Young People, Learning and Work Institute via nicola.aylward@learningandwork.org.uk

If you have any questions about this research, or the survey, do get in touch directly with Nicola as above.

ERSA responds to today’s Kickstart announcement

ERSA is seeking to clarify what today’s Kickstart announcement means for the employment support sector.

DWP messaging

What is the Kickstart Scheme?

Since the Scheme’s launch in September, there are already 120,000 Kickstart jobs that would not exist without the scheme.

What is changing today?

How can you get involved?

Further information

Kickstart Community Forum

Check out the Community Forum page for more information and resources relating to Kickstart Scheme, including latest FAQs document (25 January)
https://ersa.org.uk/kickstart

New board launched to ‘maximise’ Kickstart scheme in GM – and ensure placements are ‘meaningful’

A new board has been set up to help “maximise” the government’s Kickstart job creation scheme in Greater Manchester.

The Kickstart scheme, launched earlier this month, provides funding for employers to create 6-month placements for people aged 16-24 and who are on universal credit and at risk of long-term unemployment.

Part of the government’s Plan for Jobs, the scheme’s aims is to create fully-funded jobs across England, Scotland and Wales, with the first placements likely to be available from November.

The GM Kickstart Board will include representatives from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) and Jobcentre Plus (JCP), and will be chaired by Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) co-chair Mo Isap.

The board’s aims are to ensure businesses of all sizes have access to Kickstart funding and young people are offered good quality and “meaningful” placements, it said.

The board said its work will complement the GM Good Employment Charter – designed to improve wages and employment standards – and the Young Person’s Guarantee, set up in response to Covid-19 and its impact on young people.

Applications for grants are now open and the Kickstart scheme will run until December 2021.

Funding covers 100 per cent of the national minimum wage for 25 hours a week and covers employer costs – such as national insurance – for up to 250,000 placements.

Elizabeth Taylor, chief executive at ERSA, said: “As the membership body of employment support organisations, ERSA is collaborating in Great Manchester to ensure young people and businesses maximise the opportunities of Kickstart.

“ERSA is working to ensure all young people have access to Kickstart if it is right for them, that there is pre-employment support, good jobs, with support, training, and development for positive outcomes.

“Employers should be reassured that if they create Kickstart jobs in GM there is the collaboration to make Kickstart a success.”

Originally posted via Business Live here

To find out more about the Kickstart Scheme

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/kickstart-scheme

https://ersa.org.uk/kickstartlocal