You may have heard that the government has created a new scheme to encourage and support employers to create work placements for young people in England, Scotland and Wales.  The Kickstart Scheme pays the costs for young people who are currently on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment to be employed part time for 6 months.  The idea is for the placements to support the participants to develop the skills and experience they need to find work after completing the scheme.

There is a minimum number of 30 people who must be enrolled on the scheme, although you can do so as part of a consortium, so RDA UK is looking at the possibility of doing this to support your Group, if this might work for you.  

What funding is available

Funding is available for:

• 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week
• associated employer National Insurance contributions
• employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions

There is also £1500 per job placement available for setup costs, support and training.  RDAUK may charge you a proportion of this element in order to help fund a co-ordinated approach to the training program required by the scheme.

How to get the funding

Funding is available following a successful application process.

Who can apply for funding

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

Each application should include how you will help the participants to develop their skills and experience (RDAUK may be able to provide a co-ordinated approach to this training) 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

Once a job placement is created, it can be taken up by a second person once the first successful applicant has completed their 6-month term.

To find out more about the scheme visit www.gov.uk/government/collections/kickstart-scheme

At the moment we are just looking for groups to register their interest, to find out if we could meet the criteria for 30 people through our ‘consortium’. If you think your group might be interested, please email Peter Dean at RDA National Office at pdean@rda.org.uk