Companies benefitting from the additional support of young individuals through the government’s Kickstart scheme have expressed their thanks to the organising team at BATF.
The Kickstart Scheme is a fully funded government initiative which creates high quality 6-month work placements for 16 to 24 year-olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long-term unemployment. As an approved gateway for the scheme, BATF has already organised more than 100 placements across companies in the jewellery and giftware sectors. Now the Federation is inviting more businesses to come forward to register their interest in the opportunity, which requires zero financial commitment from the business.
The Next BATF Kickstart deadline is Friday 28th May
BATF is encouraging members of the National Association of Jewellers, Giftware Association, Surface Engineering Association, Jewellery Distributors Association and the British Travel goods and Accessories Association to apply for the scheme in order to support business activities with additional resource. Employers of all sizes can apply for funding which covers:
• 100% of the National Minimum Wage (or the National Living Wage depending on the age of the participant) for 25 hours per week for a total of 6 months
• associated employer National Insurance contributions
• employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions.
• employers receive up to £1500.00 funding per job placement. This is for setup costs and to support the young person develop their employability skills.
The scheme is not only intended to work for the employer, but also the Kickstarter themselves offering young individuals the opportunity to develop skills, and experience being part of such a dynamic sector.
Interested parties are encouraged to contact the Kickstart team at the Federation to discuss the opportunity in more detail and understand how the scheme can support your business and create an opportunity for a young person to get back into work.
You can offer multiple job placements, to accommodate your business needs. Should you require additional placements following the approval of your application, further placements can be added before the cut-off date. All candidates will be referred by your local DWP, who will be in receipt of universal credit and must be registered with a jobs coach.
You may recruit for a Kickstart position if this position is completely unrelated to any positions you have that are currently furloughed and doesn’t jeopardise the furloughed position. As your gateway, BATF will provide all the core employability skills training, which will be delivered by a professional consultant to ensure you comply with all T&Cs set by DWP. In addition to this it is your responsibility as an employer to provide the candidate with training specific to the role.
Please complete the online application form no later than Friday 28th May, following this, BATF will submit your application to DWP for them to perform basic company checks. You will be informed as to whether your application has been successful in approximately 4 weeks.
