More than 260 young people have started a Kickstart job every day
for the last six weeks – bringing the total to more than 16,500
across the country.
Figures are set to increase as careful progress along the
Government’s roadmap helps unlock key sectors, including
hospitality, culture and leisure.
To mark the milestone, Secretary of State of Work and Pensions
MP will visit an M&S store in London. She will
meet some of the young people who have recently joined the
company through the flagship Kickstart youth employment scheme,
which is creating thousands of new jobs for young people as part
of the Government’s Plan for Jobs.
M&S plans to take on a total of 360 young people via the
scheme, with a second Kickstart cohort scheduled to start in
June. Joining as Trainee Customer Assistants in stores across the
UK, the new recruits will rotate across food halls, back of house
operations, hospitality and clothing and home departments at
M&S stores.
More than 195,000 Kickstart jobs have been approved through the
Scheme nationwide. These will provide new, subsidised jobs for
young people aged 16-24 and at risk of long-term unemployment in
the coming months – helping them get a vital first foot on the
jobs ladder, and gain skills for the future.
Secretary of State of Work and Pensions, , said:
“The Kickstart scheme is playing a vital role helping our next
generation of workers get onto the jobs ladder – hundreds of
young people are starting their Kickstart jobs every day and more
vacancies are becoming available all the time.
“Employers like M&S are giving young people an opportunity to
succeed, and I encourage more businesses to join Kickstart and be
part of our national effort to build back better.”
Sacha Berendji, Retail, Operations & Property
Director at M&S said:
“We have a long history of supporting and developing young people
so it made sense for us to get involved in Kickstart. In
partnership with The Prince’s Trust we have developed a programme
for up to 360 placements that will help those involved experience
all parts of our M&S stores and gain broad retail skills.”
Pavanjeet Soor, M&S Kickstart employee,
said:
“My Job Centre coach recommended that I apply to the Kickstart
scheme. I could see there were lots of benefits so I decided to
go for it. I am looking forward to selling quality products and
providing good service, as well as working in a positive
environment.”
The Kickstart scheme forms part of the Government’s
multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs aimed at protecting, supporting
and creating jobs.
To help spearhead efforts to get Brits back into work the DWP has
hired 13,500 new dedicated Work Coaches, and later this year the
new Restart scheme will launch to help over a million people who
have been out of work for more than a year.
To find out more about the Kickstart scheme click here.
Additional Information
- The number of starts per day was based on an average number of
starts between 11/3/21 and 25/4/21
