Council provides young people with Kickstart to their career

Published: 23 October 2020

Exeter City Council is proud to be helping local businesses support young people by providing valuable work experience.

The Council is acting as a Gateway Organisation for the Government Kickstart scheme ,which supports young people (aged 16-24) gain work experience.

Normally a company applying directly would need to offer a minimum of 30 placements to qualify for the scheme. However the City Council can apply on behalf of a company if that threshold cannot be met and the number is less than 30.

The scheme offers employers the opportunity to:

• Create new 6-month job placements for young people who are currently on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment
• Access funding for:
  • 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week
  • the associated employer National Insurance contributions
  • employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions
• Access additional funding to support the young person to access the placement and improve their skills.

It is important to note the following criteria for the scheme;

The job placements created with Kickstart funding must be new jobs. They must not:

• replace existing or planned vacancies
• cause existing employees or contractors to lose or reduce their employment

The roles companies apply for must be:

• a minimum of 25 hours per week, for six months
• paid at least the National Minimum Wage for their age group
• should not require people to undertake extensive training before they begin the job placement
• be funded by the Kickstart Scheme grant and would not exist without this funding
• be paid from the grant money for the 25 hours per week on National Minimum Wage (employers can pay a higher wage and pay for more hours)

Employers must be able to develop the applicant’s skills and experience (Exeter City Council will support companies with this), including:

• support to look for long-term work, including career advice and setting goals
• support with CV and interview preparations
• supporting the participant with basic skills, such as attendance, timekeeping and teamwork

Companies interested in offering a placement to a young person, can complete the online application form and find out more by visiting the Council’s dedicated web pages

For questions about the scheme, email skills@exeter.gov.uk