St Helens Chamber is delighted to announce it has been approved as a Kickstart Scheme Gateway organisation to help local businesses create new opportunities through this new Government scheme.
As a Gateway organisation, St Helens Chamber will now be able to apply for the Kickstart Scheme funding on behalf of local businesses – and can also manage everything from finding candidates to dealing with payments.
The Kickstart scheme gives businesses the opportunity to recruit unemployed young people aged 16-24 who are registered with their local job centre. The Government will pay National Minimum Wage for 25 hours per week for every young person a business hires; with funding lasting for 6 months. Additionally, employers will receive a £1,500 grant to support with recruitment and training costs.
Tracy Mawson, Chief Executive at St Helens Chamber, commented: “We are very pleased to be able to act as a Gateway organisation for the Kickstart scheme. The scheme will be a great help to local businesses who would otherwise struggle to recruit this year and will give unemployed young people valuable work experience.
“We already have over 140 vacancies pledged by local companies who are looking to rebuild their businesses post-lockdown. It’s really encouraging to see these organisations wanting to take on local young people and it will certainly be a great boost for our local economy.”
As a Gateway organisation, St Helens Chamber will apply for the Kickstart funding on behalf of businesses. Alongside this, The Chamber are providing a Kickstart Support Package designed to make the whole process run smoothly, from shortlisting to the end of the placement.
Laura Brogden, Head of Career Development at St Helens Chamber, explained: “We want to make the whole process of applying for the Kickstart Scheme as smooth as possible for both employers and candidates, so we have put together a range of support packages that businesses can chose from to support them.
“Our aim is to remove any barriers to businesses wanting to take advantage of the scheme and we hope that the comprehensive support packages available will achieve this.”
St Helens Chamber is encouraging any businesses who would like to take advantage of the scheme in 2021 to express their interest now.
Tracy Mawson added: “2021 is going to be a busy year for businesses getting back on their feet, so we encourage anyone thinking about using the Kickstart Scheme to get in touch so we can put their vacancies forward as soon as possible.
“We will be holding an online information session on 7th January for anyone who would like to find out more.”
To find out more about the Kickstart Scheme and how to pledge a vacancy, call St Helens Chamber on 01744 742021 or email kickstart@sthelenschamber.com
