THOUSANDS of young people in the South West will be helped into working life, says the Government, through a new initiative which has launched.

Under the ’Kickstart’ scheme, people aged 16-24 who are claiming Universal Credit will be able to take up a six-month work placement with the Government paying 100% of the wages (at National Minimum Wage), National Insurance and pension contributions for 25 hours a week.

Employers will be able to top up this wage, while the Government will also pay employers £1500 to set up support and training for people on a Kickstart placement, as well as helping pay for uniforms and other set up costs. 

Chancellor Rishi Sunak says that the jobs will give young people the chance to build their skills in the workplace and improve their chances of finding long-term work.

“This isn’t just about kickstarting our country’s economy – it is an opportunity to kickstart the careers of thousands of young people who could otherwise be left behind as a result of the pandemic,” he said.

Businesses of all sizes looking to create quality jobs for young people can apply and there is no cap on the number of places. Household names including Tesco have already pledged to offer Kickstart jobs.

Young people will be referred into the new roles through their Jobcentre Plus work coach and the first placements are expected to start in November.

The scheme will initially be open until December 2021, with the option of being extended.

To help smaller businesses, employers offering fewer than 30 placements will be asked to make a bid through an intermediary, such as a Local Authority or Chamber of Commerce, who will then bid for 30 or more placements as a combined bid from several businesses. This will make the process easier and less labour intensive to apply for these smaller companies who only want to hire one or two Kickstarters.

The Government says that around 700,000 people are set to leave education this year, but that a quarter of a million more people aged 16-25 are claiming unemployment benefits since March.

“Young people are usually amongst the worst hit by financial crises, and unemployment can have longstanding implications for their future jobs and wages. We know people are leaving education into an extremely difficult jobs market, we know that young people are more likely to have been furloughed, so we are stepping in to provide more help.”