KICKSTART FOR SUSTAINABILIITY

in Organisations

Looking for a Kickstart representative organisation with training & development support?

We have now closed applications to our Gateway but we are able to support direct applicants with their own Kickstart Application submission and training requirements. We are keen to work with employers from all sectors who have an interest in sustainability and/or carbon reduction in their businesses.

With over 20 years' experience in supporting work placements and training for employers and young people, we are perfectly placed to help you to get the most from this scheme.

The Kickstart Scheme will fund hundreds of thousands of high quality 6 month work placements for young people deemed to be at risk of long term unemployment. We believe this is an excellent opportunity to support the creation of meaningful and useful work placements that could be transformative for young people - and will help employers to expand their horizons in these challenging times. We want to work with ethical and responsible employers from all sectors who share our passion for creating a more sustainable future for all.

The government scheme will cover 100% of the National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum pension contributions. Participating organisations must be able to demonstrate a commitment to suitable training; to fulfil this key requirement, Change Agents UK will provide a comprehensive training and support scheme using the government funding available for each Kickstart placement. Full details are in the Training & Support section below.

Change Agents UK has registered as a national representative organisation (or 'Gateway') so that we can help groups of employers to access the funding. We will act as the key point of contact between you and the Government, supporting your role development and application to the scheme as well as administering the funds to cover the payroll costs.

Find out more about what’s involved and how to apply below.

Young people can find out more about the Kickstart Scheme at the jobhelp site.

What is the Kickstart Scheme?

Kickstart Training

The government has launched the Kickstart Scheme to create new 6-month job placements for young people who are currently on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment. The job placements should support the participants to develop the skills and experience they need to find work after completing the scheme.

Funding is available for 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum pension contributions.

Kickstart is not an apprenticeship, but participants may move on to an apprenticeship at any time during, or after their job placement.

Any organisation, regardless of size, can apply for funding.

The job placements created with Kickstart funding must be new jobs. They must not:

replace existing or planned vacancies
cause existing employees or contractors to lose or reduce their employment

The roles you are applying for must be:

a minimum of 25 hours per week, for 6 months
paid at least the National Minimum Wage for their age group
should not require people to undertake extensive training before they begin the job placement.

Our Role as your Representative

This is a brand new government scheme, so we expect some changes along the way. But essentially our role will include:

Ensuring each employer has created a role and job description that will best suit this programme of work and meet all eligibility criteria
Collating the supporting documents required from each employer to apply for a Kickstart role
Submitting each employer’s application for a Kickstart role to the Government
Supporting each employer in choosing their Kickstart participant through the relevant government processes (further details to follow)
Distributing the government grants to cover the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions for each Kickstart participant to each employer
Providing a full training and support package (see Training and support section) for each Kickstart participant
Facilitating any useful sharing of knowledge and information across our network of represented employers to support the best possible outcomes and the Kickstart post-holders.

You will be responsible for:

Employing your Kickstart participant (including providing a contract of employment and regular payslips)
Day-to-day management of your Kickstart participant
Internal inductions or role-specific training of your Kickstart participant

Training and Support

The government stipulates that each application should include how you will help the participants to develop their skills and experience, including:

support to look for long-term work, including career advice and setting goals
support with CV and interview preparations
supporting the participant with basic skills, such as attendance, timekeeping and teamwork

At Change Agents UK, we have been providing training and development to young people starting their careers for over 20 years. We are therefore offering every Kickstart placement the opportunity to gain the required training, plus additional mentoring and networking support, through us.

There is funding of £1500 for each placement available for setup costs, support and training. Our training and support package, £1000 per participant, will come at no cost to you as the employer thanks to this funding from the government. For every Kickstart placement holder this will include:

Interactive Essential Workplace Skills workshops covering key skills such as communication, teamwork, time management and prioritisation
Sustainability and Skills for the Future workshop covering an introduction to sustainability, how social and environmental issues can be tackled through work, and the skills needed for the 21st century workplace
1:1 phone support from our experienced team providing objective/goal-setting and personalised career advice
Access to our online Learning Academy
Supported networking opportunities
An end of placement online interactive workshop on networking, CV and application skills and tailored next steps advice
Monitoring & Evaluation of the scheme outcomes.

Alongside this we ask that each employer provides an suitable induction programme, supportive line management and any role-specific training required to ensure that employers and Kickstarters are able to gain the most possible from their time on placement.

How to apply

We have now closed applications to our Gateway but we are able to support direct applicants with their own submission and training requirements. If you would like to find out more about this please call us on 01572 723419 or email contact@changeagents.org.uk

FAQs

Frequently asked questions can be found at changeagents.org.uk/kickstart-faqs

Updated 16/11/2021