Kickstart Scheme: Business Participation
(Fylde) (Con)
What steps her Department is taking to encourage businesses to
participate in the kickstart scheme. (909446)
(Havant) (Con)
What steps her Department is taking to encourage businesses to
participate in the kickstart scheme. (909453)
(Crewe and Nantwich) (Con)
What steps her Department is taking to encourage businesses to
participate in the kickstart scheme. (909454)
(Kensington) (Con)
What steps her Department is taking to encourage businesses to
participate in the kickstart scheme. (909456)
(Mid Derbyshire) (Con)
What steps her Department is taking to encourage businesses to
participate in the kickstart scheme. (909468)
(Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)
What steps her Department is taking to encourage employers to
participate in the kickstart scheme. (909470)
(Denton and Reddish) (Lab)
What steps her Department is taking to encourage employers to
participate in the Kickstart scheme. (909471)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and
Pensions
()
We are working with employers at a local, national and regional
level, and we continue to have wide-ranging engagement to promote
the scheme. Department for Work and Pensions officials are
supporting applications through existing and growing
partnerships. From day one, we have engaged with more than 300
stakeholders to ensure that the design of the kickstart scheme
delivers for our young people and employers alike. We continue to
work with those in growing sectors to boost further
opportunities, so far creating more than 4,000 applications and
more than 20,000 approved kickstart roles—these numbers are
growing daily.
[V]
Last week, I met with Ameon, a building services company based in
Fylde that is looking to grow its team due to the recent
construction boom in the north-west. In construction,
qualifications are vital to building a career. Will my hon.
Friend outline how the kickstart scheme interacts with sixth-form
and further education colleges to help enrolees to get valuable
experience of work and certified lifetime skills?
Businesses in my hon. Friend’s constituency are coming forward
daily, and DWP employer advisers are running daily sessions to
get young people ready to be matched with placements. In
addition, we have created new youth hubs and are working with
local partners to assist young people in removing any barriers.
Alongside that, we have allocated every kickstarter an additional
£1,500 of employability support to ensure that they are ready to
take up future work opportunities.
Small and medium-sized enterprises in my Havant constituency are
major local employers and already support apprenticeships in
large numbers. What steps is my hon. Friend’s Department taking
to help kickstart gateway providers, particularly local
authorities, to help SMEs to benefit from the scheme?
We are determined that SMEs can take part in kickstart. We are
actively working with a range of gateway organisations, including
chambers of commerce, local authorities and charities, so that
they can support smaller employers to offer kickstart roles.
Guidance is regularly updated through the kickstart portal on
gov.uk to clarify the process and highlight changes, and SMEs can
access local employer contracts through those pages.
Dr Mullan
More than a dozen local businesses and charities have put forward
applications, working with myself and the South Cheshire chamber
of commerce. They are keen to get going and want to give young
people opportunities. When might they be able to start deploying
the roles?
We are encouraging employers to create a range of opportunities
through the kickstart scheme for all young people aged 16 to 24
who are at risk of long-term unemployment, including those who
have disabilities. Our work coaches will help to identify those
young people in need of any extra support available through the
kickstart scheme and any other suitable provision to support
them. Meanwhile, my hon. Friend will be interested to know that
the wide-ranging opportunities in his constituency go to the
approval board this week for consideration.
The kickstart scheme is proving to be a great success in my North
Kensington jobcentre, with many placements already made and a
number—for instance, in gyms—awaiting the end of lockdown. Does
my hon. Friend agree that it is critical that we get young people
into work, especially in London, where the cost of living is so
high?
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend: it is vital that we
support young people into employment. As we know, they are often
the most affected in these times of economic uncertainty. My hon.
Friend will be pleased to know that in addition to kickstart, the
DWP Kensington youth team is actively working with local
partners, such as the Rugby Portobello Trust, to help young
people in her constituency back into work.
Mrs Latham [V]
Young people are particularly at risk of being left behind as a
result of this pandemic. Will my hon. Friend assure me that as we
get our economy moving again, she will ensure that younger people
have the chance to develop the skills that they need for future
employment?
The Secretary of State and I are determined that the kickstart
scheme will provide for young people a vital springboard to gain
vital skills and experience in fully subsidised six-month roles,
which will help to build their networks and their future
opportunities before they move into long-term employment,
apprenticeships, traineeships or further training. I was
delighted to be in Derbyshire earlier this year to see exactly
how the scheme will work on the ground.
In the previous Parliament, Members will recall that the
apprenticeship levy scheme was a bit of a flop. It let down
businesses, young people, local authorities and colleges. With my
local area seeing a 182% increase in unemployment, youngsters are
having their lives blighted by joblessness now. What urgent
action is being taken to work with local authorities, with
employers and, of course, with colleges to promote
apprenticeships as a viable future option?
I thank the hon. Lady for that question. It is very important
that kickstart works with all the opportunities that are
available for young people, and my Department is working across
Government to achieve that. The Haringey youth team is made up of
10 work coaches focused on 18 to 24-year-olds and, absolutely,
Toggle showing location of Column 6they are already working
directly on this in her Wood Green jobcentre, and I encourage her
to go to see it if she has not already done so.
[V]
Partnership will be crucial to drive down youth unemployment. I
know that areas such as Greater Manchester are keen to understand
how kickstart performs locally to assist in making the initiative
a success. Can the Minister give clarity as to whether all the
information relating to kickstart participation, which now comes
in terms of gateway organisations, number of job placements
applied for, sector information and so on, will be shared with
mayoral combined authorities such as the Greater Manchester
Combined Authority so that they are able to identify gaps that
may then require more local partnership intervention?
I am meeting with the M9 Group of Mayors once again and they have
been absolutely crucial in terms of local design, local mayors,
local enterprise partnerships, and our local chambers of
commerce. The scheme has been designed with local authorities and
local labour markets in mind. The hon. Member will be pleased to
know that we are working closely with Stockport local authority,
particularly with its job match service around kickstart.
(Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab) [V]
I am sure that, like me, the Minister wants to ensure that
kickstart works for disabled people. I would like to know whether
the Government have carried out an equality impact assessment of
this scheme, and whether they will publish it. Will they also
commit to the following: support from Access to Work from day one
of employment; access to kickstart for recipients of employment
and support allowance; and disability awareness training for all
employment advisers? These small changes could help to ensure
that every young person is able to benefit from kickstart.
I thank the hon. Lady for her question. I know that she is
focused on young people, as am I. She may have heard from the
Secretary of State that we are absolutely determined about this
and that that work is already embedded; it is part of kickstart.
This placement is treated like regular work, so all existing
schemes such as Access to Work can be used, and our young people
in jobcentres will be able to discuss all the options via the
work coach.
