East Midlands Chamber has passed major milestone in helping more than 1,000 young people to secure a job placement via the Kickstart Scheme.
The industry body has been commended by the Minister for Employment Mims Davies MP after helping hundreds of companies create six-month work placements for people aged 16 to 24 who are on Universal Credit or at risk of long-term unemployment.
She said: “It’s fantastic to see that over 1,000 young people have begun their Kickstart journey thanks to the vital support from East Midlands Chamber, in a range of exciting new roles, setting them on the road for their future careers – crucially part of the over 69,000 young people who have now started these jobs.
“Our Plan for Jobs is focused on creating and spreading opportunity just like this around the 海角视频 as we push to level up across the country.”
The chamber said it was the 海角视频’s biggest and – with almost half the vacancies created resulting in a position being filled – top-performing gateway organisation, which lodges funding applications on behalf of businesses to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
It celebrated the landmark achievement by welcoming key civil servants at the DWP to the Chesterfield Jobs Fair, hosted by Chesterfield Borough Council.
East Midlands Chamber deputy chief executive and Kickstart lead Diane Beresford, along with education and business partnership manager Pieter Eksteen, also met with Jo Macdonald, who chairs the Kickstart gateway approvals board for the DWP, to explain how the chamber has managed to secure so many placement starts among young people.
Ms Beresford said: “Young people have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic both in terms of their mental and physical wellbeing, and the significant amount of unemployment it has created.
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“The Kickstart Scheme has therefore been a lifeline for them to get the skills and work experience that will be vital to their future prospects.
“We’re delighted with our track record in converting applications into real jobs, which have played a key role in giving young people the chance they may not have otherwise had while also enabling companies to trial new roles.
“We’re continuing to support businesses and job centres to place young people, as well as look beyond the six-month period to ensure there’s a future roadmap to full-time employment.”
Under the Kickstart Scheme the DWP funds 100 per cent of the age-relevant National Minimum Wage, national insurance and pension contributions for 25 hours a week over a six-month period.
Employers can choose to top up this wage and are also eligible for a £1,500 government training grant. Young people are referred into the roles via a Jobcentre Plus work coach.
East Midlands Chamber has had more than 2,700 placements approved among almost 800 businesses located in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and other locations.
Of these, 2,200 have resulted in vacancies being created and 1,024 of those have now been filled.
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Nick Hogan, owner of Chesterfield Escape Rooms, is among those supported.
He has hired six games masters via the Kickstart Scheme – with two other vacancies now live and an application for another position currently being processed.
He has also entered into a joint venture partnership with some members of his Kickstart team to establish Chesterfield Games Quarter, including his escape rooms, a video games zone, virtual reality zone and the existing Geeks board game venue. Based in Soresby Street, it is due to open in October.
He said: “I used the Kickstart scheme because I wanted to give something back to the town and create new opportunities for young people.
“But it has also allowed me to get my foot into the market to assess the business opportunity, and has given me the confidence to now grow this into the Chesterfield Games Quarter concept.”
Technology business Bam Boom Cloud, which employs 100 people in Derby, has hired a finance assistant and digital marketing assistant using the Kickstart Scheme, with the placement employees now progressing to an apprenticeship contract and full-time role respectively.
Head of marketing Hannah Brooks said it was a “win-win” scenario by preparing two new people for permanent employment within the company by the end of the six-month placements while aligning with its ethos to nurture young talent.
She said: “They have brought fresh ideas and creativity to our team.
“They are keen to learn and have a great work ethic, with a drive to succeed that is infectious. It’s also been a great opportunity for our existing team to develop their coaching and mentoring skills.”
Sunita Koura, from Derby, had been unemployed since graduating from university in July 2020 before joining as a digital marketer.
The 23-year-old said: “The pandemic has made it particularly difficult for young people to get into the jobs market, especially as companies, if hiring at all, are wanting to hire people with previous experience in the field.
“So the Kickstart Scheme is a great way for people in my situation to get experience and skills that they can use in their further career – or, even better, full-time opportunities within the company that the placement is with.”
The latest Kickstart vacancies can be viewed at www.emc-dnl.co.uk/kickstart-vacancies.