The Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce is delighted to announce that they are now ready to aid the Island’s business community with applications for the Kickstart Programme here on the Isle of Wight as a Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) Intermediary.
The Kickstart Scheme creates new six-month job placements for young people who are currently on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment. These placements will support the participants to gain the skills and experience they need to find work after completing the scheme.
Any Isle of Wight Company can now “bid” for a Kickstart employee through the IW Chamber and take advantage of the full benefits of the scheme.
IW Chamber Chief Executive Steve Holbrook says: “With our fantastic links to the local business community the Chamber is in the ideal position to lead on the Kickstart scheme here on the Island and we are incredibly confident that it will be a massive benefit to every company who takes part.
We strongly urge companies to take full advantage and to contact us as soon as possible.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: “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.”
Funding is available for 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions.
The Government is also making £1,500 per job placement available for training courses, setup costs and support.
IW Chamber Chief Executive Steve Holbrook adds: “Training these young employees is a crucial part of the scheme so we have decided to break this element down and make it even simpler for companies to provide necessary and suitable training that each Kickstart employee will require.
Therefore, in order to reduce the impact on companies, the IW Chamber is including a suite of Training Courses as part of our intermediary package.”
For general information about the Kickstart Scheme see www.kickstart.campaign.gov.uk or to find out how the IW Chamber can help you access the programme contact the IW Chamber of Commerce at chamber@iwchamber.co.uk
