St Helens business EasyTots has found two new recruits through the Government’s Kickstart scheme. Using St Helens Chamber as a gateway, their application was seamless and stress free from beginning to end.
The Kickstart scheme is a Government funded programme which encourages businesses to hire local unemployed young people. The Government will fund their salary for 25 hours per week at the National Minimum Wage, plus their National Insurance and employer pension contributions. Businesses also receive one off payment of £1,500 to support with recruitment and training costs.
EasyTots was founded in 2015 by Helen Davies, offering innovative feeding solutions to help with mealtimes, from the very start of weaning to age 4. The company exports its products across Europe, Asia, Australia, the USA and Canada.
Due to continued growth, Helen decided to recruit more staff to support the business through the Kickstart scheme.
Helen explained: “We recently expanded our operations and moved into warehouse space in St Helens in September. This move has been instrumental in enabling the company to expand and provide the space and capacity for growth.
“Initially we recruitment one member of staff but we knew we needed more staff to support our continuing growth, so the Kickstart scheme came at a great time for us.”
Having previously worked for Connexions, Helen has a unique understanding of the importance of supporting unemployed young people. She brought this experience with her when founding EasyTots, and the company now has a strong belief in helping young people in the local community get into work.
Helen added: “Kickstart has enabled us to have a bit of breathing space cashflow-wise while enabling us to grow, but also it’s allowing us to give something back to help these young people who just need bit of support to grow their confidence.
We chose to go through St Helens Chamber as a gateway to process our application and everything ran smoothly from start to finish.
“With the move we just didn’t have the time to work through the application process, but the Chamber made it easy; they took care of everything from processing our application to advertising the vacancies, and we couldn’t be happier with the service.”
The young people who have secured these vacancies with EasyTots are already settling well into their roles and are enjoying an opportunity to gain valuable work experience and earn a salary during these difficult times.
Laura Brogden, Head of Career Development at St Helens Chamber, commented: “We’re really pleased to see the first Kickstart candidates settling into their roles. It’s been a tough year for businesses and we applaud EasyTots for supporting these young people.
“The Chamber is looking forward to working closely with these, and many more Kickstart candidates, to continue their training and get them into permanent local employment.”
With St Helens Chamber set up as a Gateway organisation, businesses can apply through the Chamber and have everything taken care of; from initial application, through to training the young person in their role.
Laura added: “The Chamber is set up and ready to help local businesses access this fantastic scheme. We can take care of everything and will help source and pre-screen candidates, so when you apply through us we can really take all the effort out of the process for you. We also liaise with the DWP on your behalf.
“This is a brilliant scheme and we are currently helping lots of businesses to access it, so do get in touch if your business would like to get involved.”
To find out more about the Kickstart Scheme, get in touch on 01744 742091 or email kickstart@sthelenschamber.com
