Kickstart Scheme Application UK | All Sectors

Kickstart Scheme

Helping provide excellent opportunities

Who are we?

Our authorisation

As a nationwide Kickstart Gateway (authorised to operate in all industry sectors), we’re able to deal with all scheme applications for employers under the Kickstart Scheme.

Our fees

We get paid by the DWP, so do not make any charge for dealing with the scheme application on your behalf. Unless you wish us to provide training to your new employees (see below), the full recruitment and training grant of £1,500 is paid to you.

Training requirements

You will need to show that you have a detailed and robust training programme in place. We appreciate that many employers may not be in a position to deliver this themselves; accordingly, we are also able to offer:

Employability training – we offer two 3-hour sessions for your employees, the first at the start of the placement, and the second at the end. The cost of this is £100 per placement
Recruitment service – we will receive the applications from the Job Centres on your behalf, filter the applications, undertake initial interviews/skills tests and draw up a short list for you to undertake final interviews. Our charges for this are £350 per placement.
Training and mentoring service – from the outset of the placement, we will work with you to create a personal training plan for each employee under the Kickstart Scheme (in addition to any “on the job” training you might provide). From developing the job description and training requirements with you, to undertaking an initial training assessment with the employee, and then engaging with the employee on a monthly basis to ensure their training is satisfactorily completed, we will look after this for you. We will provide monthly reports to you and final certification for the employee and for your own records. Our charge for this service is £500 per placement.

If you wish us to deal with one or more aspects of the recruitment and training process on your behalf, please let us know. The fees can then be deducted from the initial recruitment and training grant.

About the kickstart scheme

The Kickstart Scheme provides funding to create new job placements for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long term unemployment. 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 can spread the start date of the job placements up until the end of December 2021.

A Kickstart Scheme application must be for a minimum of 30 job placements. If a single employer cannot provide this many job placements, they can find a Kickstart gateway, such as a local authority, charity or trade body for help applying.

Further funding is available for training and support so that young people on the scheme can get a job in the future.

What you’ll get as an Employer

£1,500 per job placement

You’ll get £1,500 funding per job placement. This is for setup costs and to support the young person develop their employability skills. If someone else helps you to do some of this for you, you’ll have to agree how you will share this money.

Kickstart Scheme wages and related costs

The funding covers:

100% of 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 can pay a higher wage and for more hours but the funding will not cover this.

Job placement criteria

The job placements created with Kickstart Scheme funding must be new jobs. They must not:

replace existing or planned vacancies
cause existing employees, apprentices or contractors to lose work or reduce their working hours

The job placements must:

be a minimum of 25 hours per week, for 6 months
pay at least the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wagefor the employee’s age group
only require basic training

For each job placement you must help the young person become more employable. This could include:

looking for long-term work, including career advice and setting goals
support with curriculum vitae (CV) and interview preparations
developing their skills in the workplace

If you are not eligible for Kickstart Scheme funding, find out about other employment schemes.

The young person may be able to move to another employment scheme when they’ve finished their 6-month Kickstart Scheme job placement.

What you need to provide during the application

You will need:

your Companies House reference number, Charity Commission number or Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator number, if you have one
your organisation address and contact details
details of the job placements and their location

Tell us how your job placements are new and created just for the scheme

The job placements must not:

replace existing or planned vacancies
cause existing employees, apprentices or contractors to lose work or reduce their working hours

Tell us:

how many employees you have
about changes to your workforce in the last 6 months and why (for example redundancies and changes to hours worked by existing staff)
the number of people affected by changes to your workforce in the last 6 months
about the kinds of roles, functions and average salary of those who were made redundant or who had their hours reduced in the last 6 months
if you would be able to create these job placements without Kickstart Scheme funding and what funding source you would use
what recruitment you have completed, started or paused in the last 6 months, including how similar these vacancies are or were to the roles you are creating for the Kickstart Scheme
if the job placements will be similar to existing or planned roles or the roles previously done by those made redundant or with fewer working hours, why you are using Kickstart Scheme funding to create similar roles
if you’ve engaged with any relevant trade unions and any advice the unions have given

How you will support young people to become more employable

Tell us:

what support will be offered (for example helping them with writing their CV and preparing for an interview)
when you will provide this support (for example halfway through their placement or towards the end)
how many hours it will take
who will provide the support (for example you may already have a pre-existing relationship with training providers)
how you will monitor this support
how the young person can provide feedback during their placement and afterwards, and how this will be acted on

You get £1,500 funding per job placement for setup costs and support. If you someone else helps you do some of this, you’ll have to agree how you will share this money.

How you will get the funding

£1,500 per job placement

The £1,500 setup costs will be paid when the young person starts the job placement.

If you get someone else to do some of the job placement setup or employability support for you, you’ll have to agree how you will share this money.

Kickstart Scheme wages and related costs

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will use information from HMRC to check that the young person is still employed. The grant funding to pay the young person’s salary will be paid in monthly arrears when we know they are:

enrolled on your payroll
being paid through Pay As You Earn (PAYE)

You can pay a higher wage and for more hours but the funding will not cover this.

Getting the young people into the job placements

Kickstart Scheme job placements are only available for Universal Credit claimants aged 16 to 24 who are referred to you by DWP.

If your application is successful:

You will give DWP job descriptions that work coaches at Jobcentre Plus will use.
The work coaches will match suitable candidates to the job placements.
DWP will send you the candidate details.
You’ll then be able to interview the candidates matched to your job placements.
You’ll select the candidate best suited to the role.

Funding will only be given if a young person is hired using the Kickstart Scheme process. After a job placement ends you can get another Kickstart Scheme young person to start another job placement.

How to apply

You need to have a minimum of 30 job placements before applying (or if not, you need to use the services of a Kickstart Gateway).

You will need to provide information about the job placements during the application.

EMPLOYABILITY AND OTHER TRAINING

Training requirements

Employability training – we offer two 3-hour sessions for your employees, the first at the start of the placement, and the second at the end. The cost of this is £100 per placement
Recruitment service – we will receive the applications from the Job Centres on your behalf, filter the applications, undertake initial interviews/skills tests and draw up a short list for you to undertake final interviews. Our charges for this are £350 per placement.
Training and mentoring service – from the outset of the placement, we will work with you to create a personal training plan for each employee under the Kickstart Scheme (in addition to any “on the job” training you might provide). From developing the job description and training requirements with you, to undertaking an initial training assessment with the employee, and then engaging with the employee on a monthly basis to ensure their training is satisfactorily completed, we will look after this for you. We will provide monthly reports to you and final certification for the employee and for your own records. Our charge for this service is £500 per placement.