St Helens Chamber has been operating as a gateway organisation for the Kickstart scheme since September and has seen over 300 placements approved to date.
Each of these placements are exclusively available to young people aged 16-25 who are unemployed and claiming Universal Credit. Working closely with DWP, St Helens Chamber aims to successfully place local young people into these new roles.
Aaron Unsworth, Kickstart Co-ordinator at St Helens Chamber, commented: “We’re thrilled at how many local businesses have really got behind the Kickstart scheme and created new placements to support these young people into work.
“With over 300 approved placements so far, and 42 young people already starting in their roles, it’s really encouraging to see businesses recruiting again with the support of Kickstart, as we move out of the lockdown. The scheme is currently open for applications until 31st December, so if you’re thinking about getting a Kickstarter into your business make sure you get your application to us.”
Businesses taking part in the Kickstart scheme benefit from a range of funding and support, and the young person benefits from a placement for at least 6 months to help them boost their employability and get valuable experience in the workplace.
One local business who is already seeing the benefits of Kickstart is Electrovision. Paul Ledwith, Group Legal Counsel at Electrovision, commented: “I can’t speak highly enough about the scheme, and the support from the Chamber was first class.
“As a business we get new staff and the Kickstarters are young and quick to pick up new skills For the Kickstarters themselves they get a taste of the workplace. 3 of the 5 young people we recruited had never been employed before, so it is giving them a great introduction into what an 8-5 job is really like.”
Local business Easytots have also used the scheme to add to their warehousing team.
Helen Davies, Founder of Easytots commented: “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 over 300 placements approved to date, in a range of different industries, this is a great time for unemployed young people to add to their CV’s through the Kickstarter vacancies. Many local businesses are already on board and more are signing up as the scheme progresses.
Aaron commented: “Its really encouraging to see how many businesses have pledged placements for Kickstarters. It shows that local businesses are investing in St Helens and are keen to invest in the talented young people in our town.
“If any young people are interested in the Kickstart placements , they should speak to their Job Centre Work Coach who will refer them and help them apply for any placements. We also have our National Careers Service team who can help young people build their CV ready to apply.”
To find out more about the latest Kickstart placements, email kickstart@sthelenschamber.com
