The Kickstart Scheme is a £2 billion fund to create hundreds of thousands of high-quality six-month work placements for young people aged 16-24, who are claiming Universal Credit. The Surrey Chambers of Commerce is working alongside the British Chambers of Commerce and is a recognised gateway orginisation in coordinating business responses.

Businesses of all sizes looking to create quality jobs for young people can apply to create new six-month job placements for young people who are currently on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment. The job placements should support the participants to develop the skills and experience they need to find work after completing the scheme.

The Government will fund 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions. In addition, businesses taking on a Kickstart candidate can apply for £1,500 per job placement available for setup costs, support and training.

To help smaller businesses, employers offering fewer than 30 placements will be asked to make a bid through a gateway orginisation, such as a 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 pandemic has caused disruption to many businesses and individuals, who, through no fault of their own, find themselves without meaningful employment. Could your organisation benefit from hiring new talent, with financial support from the Government? If so, in the first instance please provide the following details to kickstart@surrey-chambers.co.uk