Apprenticeship & Skills Partnership

Kickstart / Kickstart Aftercare

What is Kickstart?

The Kickstart scheme is a £2 billion fund to create hundreds of thousands of high-quality 6-month work placements for young people aged 16-24, who are currently claiming Universal Credit. The Apprenticeship Hub is a recognised gateway in supporting businesses that wish to implement Kickstart into their organisation.

The Kickstart scheme is open to organisations of all sizes and across sectors, provided that they are willing to create a quality work placement for young people for a minimum of 6 months. The job placements should provide value and support the young people to develop some of the skills and experience needed to find work upon completing the scheme. The Government are funding100% of the age relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week per participant, plus any associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions. Furthermore, employers recruiting a Kickstarter can apply for a £1,500 incentive for each candidate enrolled, to cover any set-up costs, additional support and workplace training required.

Kickstart Logo

How can the Apprenticeship & Skills Partnership help?

As a smaller employer, if you wish to offer fewer than 30 of these placements, the application process must be done through an intermediary who will apply on behalf of several businesses at once to reach the 30 mark and make the process as easy as possible. Portsmouth City Council and Southampton City Council will be intermediaries in the Solent region, and the Solent Apprenticeship Hub will be your first point of contact to make the process as easy as possible.

Kickstart Aftercare

The Apprenticeship & Skills Partnership are offering FREE support to any employers who have hired Kickstarters through the government’s Kickstart Scheme. As part of this we will offer:

  • An organisational impact review – We will work with you to conduct an analysis of the positive impacts that the Kickstart employees have had on your organisation, to help determine how to build upon that and the necessary steps to do this.
  • An ongoing skills progression one-to-one with your Kickstart employee – Ongoing one-to-one sessions with your Kickstarter to discuss progression opportunities onto the most relevant skills training such as an apprenticeship or traineeship, whether that is continuing with you, or providing support with finding a new employer.
  • A next-steps employer discussion – If you are considering employing your Kickstarter beyond the 6-months, we can support you in deciding on the relevant skills training programme and standards, as well as presenting the funding options and incentives available to make this progression.

If you are interested in developing a skills plan beyond the Kickstart Scheme or would simply like to learn more about the Kickstart services we offer, use the contact form below or speak to a member of the team through the live chat function.