*THIS EVENT IS POSTPONED TO A LATER DATE*
Employment Minister, Mims Davies, is to launch the Government’s new Kickstart scheme, designed to help young people into work, alongside North Devon MP, Selaine Saxby, in an online event for North Devon businesses on Wednesday 4th November at 6pm.
The online event is primarily for small businesses interested in finding out more about the scheme, but also open to Gateway organisations wishing to find out more, and young people interested in participating.
Selaine said of the event:
The Kickstart scheme is a great opportunity for young people to gain invaluable work experience within a local business. I very much hope businesses will look to engage with the scheme and create new positions and help our local young people into work at this difficult time.
Minister Davies is the minister responsible for this excellent scheme and this is a unique opportunity for employers in North Devon to be able to hear directly from the minister.
Under the scheme, announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak as part of his Plan for Jobs, employers can offer young people aged 16-24 who are claiming Universal Credit a six-month work placement. The Government will fully fund each “Kickstart” job - paying 100% of the age-relevant National Minimum Wage, National Insurance and pension contributions for 25 hours a week.
Employers will be able to top up this wage, while the Government will also pay employers £1500 to set up support and training for people on a Kickstart placement, as well as helping pay for uniforms and other set up costs. The jobs will give young people – who are more likely to have been furloughed, with many working in sectors disproportionately hit by the pandemic - the opportunity to build their skills in the workplace and to gain experience to improve their chances of finding long-term work.
To help smaller businesses, employers offering fewer than 30 placements will be asked to make a bid through an intermediary, such as a Local Authority or chamber of commerce, who will then bid for 30 or more placements as a combined bid from several businesses. This will make the process easier and less labour intensive to apply for these smaller companies who only want to hire one or two Kickstarters.
Businesses interested in taking part in the online event on the 4th November can register their interest by emailing their business details to [email protected]. Details on how to join the session will be sent out to all registered participants on the day of the event.
Image: Selaine with Mims Davis in January, earlier this year.
