From education to employment

More than 19,000 jobs created by Kickstart Scheme so far

Rishi and Boris picking and packing for Tesco

More than 19,000 job placements for unemployed young people have been created under @RishiSunak’s £2bn #KickstartScheme – with tens of thousands more expected in the months ahead. 

The landmark scheme, which gives 16-24-year olds a future of opportunity and hope by creating high-quality, government-subsidised jobs across the UK, began last week.

The Scheme has also received 4,359 applications from employers across Great Britain, with a wide range of jobs available, including in tech, construction, communications, fitness and media. 

New applications from employers are being accepted each week.

Rishi Sunak 100x100Chancellor Rishi Sunak said:  

“Our country’s future will be built by the next generation, so it’s vital that we harness the talent of young people as we rebuild from the pandemic.

“But this isn’t just about kickstarting our economy, we’re giving opportunity and hope to thousands of young people, kickstarting their careers and offering them a brighter future.”

Therese Coffey 100x100Work and Pensions Secretary Thérèse Coffey said:

“Every job created by the Kickstart Scheme is a potentially life-changing opportunity for a young person, and the heartening response of employers shows they recognise the huge value in giving youth a chance.

“The pandemic has hit young people hard, but we are doing everything in our power to give them hope and the chance to find their place in the world of work.

“Employers from all corners of the country have signed up, creating thousands of new and interesting jobs and helping us to level up as we build back better.” 

Young people have been some of the hardest hit by the  pandemic and unemployment can have longstanding implications for their future jobs and wages. The Kickstart Scheme runs until December 2021 and is expected to create more than 250,000 high-quality jobs for them.

On a visit with the Prime Minister to a Tesco warehouse yesterday (11th November), the Chancellor met some young people who are set to start their Kickstart placements next week.

Other businesses including Bloomberg, British Chambers of Commerce, Network Rail, Barnado’s, YMCA, LadBible, Tech Nation, The Royal Mint, KFC, and Farrow & Ball have also committed to support the scheme.

Over 500 gateways – organisations that act on behalf of employers offering 29 or less vacancies – have registered to help the smallest businesses to hire young people too.

Each job placement lasts six months and is fully funded by the government, helping young people build their confidence and experience in the workplace, while earning a regular wage. Young people on Kickstart will also get additional employment support and training to help them progress during their placement, with £1,500 available to employers to cover this training as well as other onboarding costs.  

Young people are usually amongst the worst hit by financial crises, and unemployment can have longstanding implications for their future jobs and wages. We know people are leaving education into an extremely difficult jobs market, we know that young people are more likely to have been furloughed, so we are stepping in to provide more help.

Around 700,000 young people are set to leave education and enter the job market this year, with a quarter of a million more people aged under 25 claiming unemployment benefits since March – with youth unemployment having a long-term impact on jobs and wages.

Three Point Plan for Jobs

  1. Job Retention Scheme – The first phase, which began in March, focused on protection, with one of the largest and most comprehensive economic responses in the world.
  2. New Deal Plan for Jobs – The Chancellor’s Plan for Jobs and the PM’s ‘New Deal ’ will form the second phase of a three-phase strategy to secure the UK’s economic recovery from coronavirus.
  3. Spending Review – The third phase will follow in the autumn with a Budget and Spending Review.

Employees aged 17 were most likely to be furloughed. 65% of employments with a female employee aged 17 were furloughed, the equivalent figure for males was 62%. Young people are more likely to have been furloughed than the general population (47% compared to 32%).

As of July there were almost 538,000 young people aged 24 and under on UC. That figure increased by a quarter of a million from March to July.

The Kickstart scheme is just one part of a package of support for young people. The government has invested £1.6 billion in increasing the number of apprenticeships, traineeships and employment support schemes, helping people to build the skills they need to get back into work.

The Kickstart scheme was announced in July as part of the Chancellor’s Plan for Jobs, which set out the biggest package of support for youth unemployment in decades – including tripling the number of traineeships, incentivising employers to hire more apprentices through a £2,000 payment to employers for every apprentice they hire under the age of 25 and investing in our National Careers Service so people can receive bespoke advice on training and work.

Wages will be paid up to 25 hours per week at the age-relevant National Minimum wage, and pension contributions will be the statutory automatic enrolment minimum contributions. 


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