The Kickstart Scheme is a fantastic opportunity for businesses to boost their productivity while providing employment for a generation of talented young people who might otherwise be at risk of long term unemployment due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis.


What is it all about? To find out more............sign up for our webinar on Tuesday, 23rd February, 12.30pm to 1.30 pm - to register use this LINK


The Government will fund 100% of the National Minimum Wage for 25 hours per week as well as the associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions. The aim of the £2 billion fund is to create hundreds of thousands of high quality 6-month work placements aimed at those aged 16 to 24 who are on Universal Credit. Any businesses taking part in the Scheme can apply for £1,500 per job placement available for any admin and training costs.

So far, nationally more than 360,000 applications have been received and processed and the scheme is open to all employers, regardless of size and sector, until 31st December, 2021…….seems too good to be true?  Well the good news is that we have already successfully supported 30 businesses and 90 kickstarters through the process…….but how does it work and how easy is it to get onboard?

In brief, the scheme covers:

 How do I apply?

Employers who want to employ fewer than 30 Kickstarters need to use a Gateway organisation to submit applications and administer the scheme. We originally set out to become a Gateway Organisation to help our members but quickly realised we could help so many more by branching out and extending our service to other companies. The requests came flooding in and we decided to form a collaboration with our former members Shadow Foundr. They had already gained Gateway Organisation status and were used to handling large sums of money, ideal for organising future salaries and grants.

 We advertised the Kickstart Scheme on social media and in local business magazines and only 2 months in we had enough applications for 3 submissions! Our first 3 submissions were 100% successful. Every company who requested a Kickstarter was granted one, not only does that bring a fantastic new employee but also £1500 to spend on equipment or training. 

 As we all know, the scheme is relatively new and we have faced some challenges as the Government has continued to roll out additional information.  As a result, we’ve had to continue to tweak our own process. Our application form is on version 7, our FAQ’s are 5 pages long and we haven’t even faced the recruitment stage!  We are committed to supporting businesses throughout the process…….

 One critical piece of advice we’d like to share with you is to take your time on the application form. The form will include all the information that goes out to the Job Centre and your job description is what draws the candidate in. It’s the first impression they have of your company. When your job advert goes live, so will 29 others……... so make yours count!

 So what’s next? Our first 90 job placements will be going live with the Job Centre in the next few weeks, it's then up to the individual companies to interview and hire.  

 So how do you apply? 

If you have any questions or are ready to send your requests, please contact Clare Constable on [email protected] or 01293 368100.

For more information about the scheme check out the government's website Kickstart Scheme - GOV.UK  or

............sign up for our webinar on Tuesday, 23rd February, 12.30pm to 1.30 pm - to register use this LINK