County Durham education and training company Learning Curve Group (LCG) is playing a vital role in supporting thousands of young people across the North East to get their first job through the Government’s Kickstart scheme.
The £2bn Kickstart scheme, announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak as part of his Plan for Jobs, enables employers to offer six-month job placements for 16 to 24-year-olds at risk of long-term unemployment, with their wages paid by the Government for up to 25 hours per week.
The scheme comes in a year which has seen the most people out of work since 1994 and as the pandemic gained momentum, thousands of young people have been left unemployed, in particular those leaving education.
READ MORE: {}
LCG recognised the outstanding opportunity the scheme presented and has already applied and had approval for 30 and hired 15 individuals through the scheme; helping young people back into the workplace or into their first role.
The firm is also an approved gateway organisation for businesses that don’t meet the government criteria of 30 positions per application.
The minimum number of positions per application, as set out by Government, could serve as a barrier for SMEs wanting to taking advantage of the scheme, but select gateway organisations are able to combine positions from multiple organisations to meet the minimum numbers required.
Louise Clough, director of people, said: “The roles we have identified give individuals a chance to experience departments such as HR, marketing and health and safety which are industries that traditionally require higher level qualifications to enter. So, the ability to utilise the scheme start people off on long term successful careers was a no-brainer.”
Learning Curve Group applies for placements and funding on behalf of a business, regardless of the number of opportunities they have within their organisation, significantly reducing the administrative pressure on your business, too.
Most Read
Once DWP approves the application, Job Centre Plus (JCP) advertise the placement referring any suitable applicants to LCG to sift. Once the recruitment and interview process has been completed, the business gets to make the final decision – saving essential time.
Ms Clough added: “We are using the kickstart scheme in LCG as a way to support young people back into the workplace, or into their first role. Should our first cohort go well, we’ve plans to expand the application to 42 roles across the LCG Group so we can help transform as many lives as possible.”
Meanwhile, eBay is teaming up with the Federation of Small Businesses and Adecco Working Ventures to help support up to 1,000 eligible small businesses in providing new work placements for young people through the scheme.
As part of the new initiative, eBay will offer up to 1,000 eligible small businesses who have an eBay account, and successfully participate in the Kickstart scheme via the FSB portal, £500 in eBay seller fee credits. eBay will also offer training to successful participants to improve their e-commerce and digital skills.
Mike Cherry, national chairman of the FSB, added: “The 海角视频’s small businesses are the biggest private employer in the country, and are proven to offer more career and employment opportunities to those furthest from work, such as the long-term unemployed and young people who are not in education, employment or training.”