Kickstart Scheme

The Wise Group is a Gateway organisation for the Kickstart scheme. Drawing upon more than 35 years of employability experience, the Wise Group will supply you with the wrap around support needed to make success of the Kickstart Scheme. Read on to find all of the information you need to become a Kickstart employer.

Kickstart is a UK-wide employability scheme that gives employers funding to bring new talent into their business. It is a £2 billion fund created to support hundreds of thousands of high quality 6-month work placements for young people aged 16-24, who are claiming Universal Credit.

As a Kickstart employer, the scheme will offer you –

• 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

• The associated employer National Insurance contributions

• The employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions

Partnering with the Wise Group, we’ll provide the crucial wrap around employability support for each of your new employees – a requirement of the Kickstart Scheme.

Kickstart Scheme wages and costs are paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).  Please read our handy guide for employers to find out more about the payments structure.

Under the scheme, the Government will cover 100 per cent of employment costs for 25 hours a week. This includes the employee’s salary at the appropriate minimum wage for their age, as well as National Insurance and pension contributions.

To get started here’s how it works.

For employers

• The Wise Group will submit the placement application(s) on your behalf and will work directly with the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP)

• We handle employee wages and complete the administrative requirements of the scheme on your behalf, making the process simple

For young people

• We provide a comprehensive, quality and flexible employability support package

The DWP

• Will liaise with eligible young people to advise them of the opportunities

• They will also arrange interviews with you and will send several young people for consideration for interview

Once you have agreed your placement, we’ll be back in touch to arrange payments and a flexible package of employability and skills support.  This will be aimed at putting your young people in the best position to work with you, and in a better position to find a job upon completion of their work placement.

The Wise Group has over 35 years’ experience of working with employers to deliver employability skills programmes. With our specialist knowledge of the Kickstart scheme, we can make it simple for you. We will support you and apply directly to the DWP on your behalf, as well as providing the wraparound employability support that is an essential component of the scheme to ensure young people make the most of their time with you. By utilising our experience to access Kickstart, it will allow your business a simple and impactful way of bringing in new talent and capacity to your organisation.

Any job placements created by the Kickstart Scheme must be new jobs and follow this criteria:

• Be a minimum of 25 hours per week, for six months

• Pay at least the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wage for the employee’s age group

• Only require basic training

Job placements must not:

• Replace existing or planned vacancies

• Cause existing employees, apprentices or contractors to lose work or reduce their working hours

We have prepared a detailed employer pack for interested parties which further describes the Kickstart scheme, the Wise Group’s role as a gateway and our employability support offer. Click here to view Kickstart:  a bridge back to opportunity

Work with us to help prepare your workforce for the future.

Apply Now