Can you offer a young person a job placement that will give them the experience they need?
If you can offer new, 6-month placements to young people, the government will fully fund the position.
MPCT are excited to offer you support to access The Kickstart Scheme which provides funding to employers to create job placements for 16 to 24 year olds.
MPCT values and recognises the Kickstart Scheme as a positive opportunity for young people, at an extremely challenging time. We are offering to become a Kickstart Employer Representative for several reasons:
- We want to offer organisations in our network, who cannot deliver the minimum 30 job placements required to apply to the scheme themselves, the chance to still have access to it.
- From more of a development perspective, we believe that the expertise and the resources we have developed, whilst running programmes that support work-skills and preparation for employment, will be valuable to those organisations that want to offer young people a strong package of training and support through Kickstart – this will be a comprehensive employability package and progression support.
- To eliminate financial risk to our employers when consolidating or growing their business.
Providing high quality work experience demands significant time and energy and we want to support organisations to ensure that young people on Kickstart get the best possible boost to their future career prospects, while making valuable contributions to our valued employers.
As we move to the next stage it is important to highlight, that in order to progress, you must be able to confirm that:
Your Kickstart job placements will:
- Be funded by the Kickstart Scheme grant and would not exist without this funding
- Be paid from the grant money for the 25 hours per week on National Minimum Wage (employers can pay a higher wage and pay for more hours at their own cost)
- Not replace existing or planned jobs and not cause existing employees or contractors to lose or reduce their employment
Your Kickstart Scheme job placements will be:
- For 6 months and at least 25 hours per week
- Paying at least the National Minimum Wage (for age) through PAYE.
- Paying the statutory employer duties for the health, safety and welfare for young people, National Insurance and pension contributions
As an employer you are willing and able:
- To appoint a young person that has been introduced by DWP, who is currently on Universal Credit.
- To provide appropriate level of support to help young people develop skills and experience so that they are in a better position to find work in the future.
- To provide job placements that are clear roles with a job description. These jobs need to provide real experience and opportunities to build skills.
- To receive grant payments in arrears. Are you able to financially cope with this arrangement?
- To release the young person for training and development opportunities.
- If you think you can answer ‘yes’ to all of the above, you can complete the application process at the bottom of this page.
You will need to provide further details relating to your organisation as the employer, and also provide some further clarity on the role (or roles) that you are creating to be part of the scheme.
Kickstart FAQ
What you’ll get
£1,500 per job placement
As the employer you will receive £1,500 for every job placement created.
This funding is for setup costs and to support the young person to develop their employability skills. We can support you, as a Kickstart gateway to do this for a negotiated fee.
Kickstart Scheme wages and related costs for employers
Kickstart Scheme wages and costs will be paid to you via MPCT, This funding 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 pay a higher wage and for more hours but the funding will not cover this
Wage band
Current rate from 1 April 2020
21 to 24: £8.20 per hour
18 to 20: £6.45 per hour
Under 18: £4.55 per hour
How are young people referred to your roles?
- The Kickstart Scheme will be open to people 16-24 years old, who are claiming Universal Credit, and are at risk of long term unemployment
- Once your application is accepted it will be sent to your local Jobcentre where a Work Coach will select a number of suitable young people who are at risk of long-term unemployment and ready for work.
- As an employer you will interview applicants and select the best candidate for the role, as you would for any position with your organisation.
If you know of a young person who is eligible and receiving Universal Credit, you can direct them to Job Help and encourage them to apply for your position by talking to their Job Centre Plus ‘Work Coach’.
How long will the Kickstart scheme run for?
- The earliest employers are able to actually start employment utilising the scheme is Nov 1 2020. DWP (Department for Works and Pensions) have stated that Kickstart placements (via an Employer Representative such as MPCT) are available up to December 31 2021.
- Kickstart placements will be employed and funding provided for 6 months from the start date of employment.
If you have any immediate questions, please email kickstart@sports.mpct.co.uk.
If you want to apply today then simply fill in the form below and we will be in touch very soon.