Kickstart offers six-month work placements, in new jobs,
for 16 to 24 year olds who are currently out of work
claiming Universal Credit and are at risk of long-term
unemployment.
All of their time is spent in the workplace with in-work
training to help develop transferable skills, aimed at
increasing their chances of sustained employment.
We’ve compiled several case studies from businesses making
the most of the government incentives, including:
Aggregate Industries
Construction materials producer and supplier Aggregate
Industries is based across 300 UK sites and employs 3,875
staff. They first heard about government incentives for
employers in the news, and from attending information
sessions run by the Education and Skills Funding Agency and
Confederation of British Industry. Aggregate Industries
have applied to be a Kickstart employer and saw this
opportunity as a way to get young people into their sector,
providing them with an opportunity to learn.
Applying for funding for 39 job placements, Aggregate
Industries view the Kickstart incentive as an entry route
to their apprenticeship and graduate initiatives.
Those recruited through Kickstarts will work with Aggregate
Industries full time, for six-months, before committing to
an apprenticeship. Aggregate Industries currently has 127
apprentices in the business.
Laura Parker, Head of Learning and Development at Aggregate
Industries said:
Kickstart will enable Aggregate Industries to introduce
individuals to the sector, who may not naturally have
considered this career path, giving individuals
opportunity to learn new skills during their placement,
whilst being energised about the company and sector.
We are committed to ensuring individuals get real work
experience and, after our Kickstarts complete the scheme,
we are aiming to offer them apprenticeship and graduate
positions. We are also considering recruiting T Level
learners in 2021 to offer further opportunities in our
sector.
Severn Trent
Midlands water and waste company Severn Trent employ 6700
individuals and will take on 500 people over the next year,
as part of the Kickstart incentive.
The company will take on the 500 new people over the course
of the next 12 months, with placements lasting for six
months and covering 25 hours a week. Severn Trent will
offer a range of roles, including water technicians,
engineering assistants, customer liaison, project
management and support function roles in Finance, HR and
Communications, typical of any large business. Alongside
the on the job training, Severn Trent are also offering
training in a variety personal and technical skills at
their new academy, based in Coventry.
Liv Garfield, Severn Trent Chief Executive, said:
This is a simply brilliant incentive and, after looking
at it, we just knew we could support many, many people
who might otherwise be at risk of simply not being able
to get back into the workforce.
We’re absolutely certain we’ll find a load of really
talented people who, at the very least, will leave us
with a range of new skills they might be able to put to
use with other employers. We’re also pretty certain we’ll
end up with a number of new colleagues who’ll have
impressed so much during their placement we absolutely
had to take them on full-time.
Given everything that’s happening at the moment, this is
one of the key ways we, as a responsible company, can
help make a real difference to our customers and our
communities. It’s a real opportunity for us, let alone
for the Kickstarters.
Crowberry Consulting
Award winning apprentice employer Crowberry Consulting Ltd,
based in Lancashire, is an SME with three employees,
working in the professional services sector as
Sustainability Consultants.
Crowberry Consulting has employed apprentices since 2012;
and this year have been recognised for their commitment to
apprenticeships by winning the National Apprenticeship
Service ‘SME Employer of the Year’ award in the North West.
Currently working with North and West Lancashire Chamber of
Commerce, Crowberry Consulting are looking to recruit two
new Kickstart employees, in Digital Marketing and in
Community Energy, anticipating these roles will evolve into
Level 3 or 4 apprenticeships. They will receive £3,000 in
incentives to support the recruitment and training of both
Kickstart employees.
Becky Toal, Managing Director, Crowberry Consulting Ltd
said:
Crowberry Consulting are a signatory to the Lancashire
Skills Pledge and are also apprenticeship champions for
both the employer and apprentice; signalling our
commitment to skills.
We are delighted to have the opportunity to receive
financial incentives to expand our workforce and to
support individuals from unemployment to a secure
employment opportunity. The successful applicants will
work with a local college to receive ongoing mentoring
and support, gaining a valuable qualification at the end
of their training.
West Berkshire County Council
West Berkshire Council employ over 1550 people in the South
East of England. They are accessing government incentives,
including Kickstart and are supporting the programme by
engaging with local businesses to take on 60 Kickstart
placements, including 13 of which will be internal
placements.
Accessing the Kickstart incentive, totalling £37,500, will
enable West Berkshire Council to support their proposed,
long term apprenticeship strategy. The Council hopes to
convert successful Kickstart placements into
apprenticeships at the end of the placements.
Funds received through incentives will be used for a
variety of projects, including supporting more services to
take on disadvantaged young people as apprentices and
providing funding for job mentors or job coach training for
both corporate and schools staff. The funding will also
help where barriers exist, with travel costs, PPE, or
equipment for work, which may impact on young people
accessing the work environment.
The Council are also an apprenticeship employer, with 123
current apprentices in the business, in roles including
Business Administration, Social Work, Teaching,
Occupational Therapy, Regulatory Compliance, Adult Social
Care, Accountancy and Management & Leadership. Fifty
apprentices recently completed their programme and in
recent months the Council has taken on, or are planning to
start, a number of new apprentices. Six new apprentices
have started since 1 August, and the incentive payment for
hiring a new apprentices will be able accessed for these
apprentices.
Abigail Witting, HR Manager, West Berkshire Council said:
Both the Kickstart scheme and the incentives for new
apprentices are positive for businesses.
The Kickstart scheme enables businesses to take on an
individuals to support with the impact of the COVID
crisis, as well as supporting young people who are being
disadvantaged by the impact on the economy and jobs with
minimal risk/cost to the business. Following a successful
placement, businesses may be able to take on a new member
of staff that they previously wouldn’t have had
opportunity to recruit.
The incentive payments for new apprentices provide
businesses with some funding when they are facing
difficult times, to help support the inevitable costs of
inducting and training a new staff member, and the
associated costs including salaries or equipment.
