Kickstart

Kick Start

Welcome to New Directions College – a Gateway Provider for the Kickstart Scheme

New Directions College, part of Reading Borough Council,  in partnership with Reading UK CIC are acting as a Gateway Provider for the Kickstart Scheme. Whilst employers can now apply directly for funding themselves, the College is still supporting many employers to navigate the process.

If you are an employer looking to offer a job placement through the Kickstart Scheme, you can register your interest here

Young people can find out more about the Kickstart Scheme at the jobhelp site: https://jobhelp.campaign.gov.uk/kickstart/

Information for Employers:

The Kickstart Scheme provides funding to employers to create new 6-month job placements for young people who are currently on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment.

This is part of the government’s Plan for Jobs and aims to create hundreds and thousands of new, fully funded jobs across England, Scotland and Wales. The first placements are likely to be available from November.

How the scheme works

The job placements should support the participants to develop the skills and experience they need to find work after completing the scheme. New Directions College can work with you to offer training and support for all of your placements.

What funding is available

Funding is available for:

  • 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week
  • associated employer National Insurance contributions
  • employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions

Monthly wage cost payments, paid in arrears, for each participant.  There is also £1500 per job placement available for setup costs, support and training.

The job placements created with Kickstart funding must be new jobs.

They must not:

  • replace existing or planned vacancies
  • cause existing employees or contractors to lose or reduce their employment

The roles you are applying for must be:

  • a minimum of 25 hours per week, for 6 months
  • paid at least the National Minimum Wage for their age group
  • should not require people to undertake extensive training before they begin the job placement

Each application should include how you will help the participants to develop their skills and experience, including:

  • support to look for long-term work, including career advice and setting goals
  • support with CV and interview preparations
  • supporting the participant with basic skills, such as attendance, timekeeping and teamwork

New Directions College can support you with this and make sure that all young people participating in Kickstart job placements are supported to be ready for the job, to learn on the job and make progress at the end. We will contact you to discuss this further, once the grant application has been submitted.

How to apply

Employers can apply for funding directly. If you wish to apply directly, you can use the link here:

Start your application

If you wish to apply for Kickstart funding via New Directions College:

As a Gateway Provider, New Directions College, part of Reading Borough Council, can submit an application on your behalf. Please complete this online from to begin the process: Form

Other help you can get

Kickstart is not an Apprenticeship, but participants may move on to an apprenticeship at any time during, or after their job placement.

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