Grow your business and support local talent
HOW THE UK GOVERNMENT IS PROMOTING YOUNG PEOPLE AND ENPRISES
THE UK government has a Plan for Jobs which is supporting businesses, protecting jobs, and levelling up the country.
Businesses have access to incentives through the Kickstart, Apprenticeships T Level and Traineeships. These initiatives will help drive the country’s economic recovery by protecting, supporting and creating jobs.
The incentives offer support to businesses who can find new young talent, invest in building the capability of young people and guide future generations into work. The schemes will focus on skills and training, ensuring that young people can get the jobs they want.
The levelling up agenda will work towards creating a society where everyone, wherever they live, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, education, or age can succeed.
The Kickstart Scheme provides funding to employers to create jobs for 16- to 24-year-olds on Universal Credit. Employers of all sizes can apply for funding which covers:
■ 100 per cent 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 six months
■ associated employer National Insurance contributions
■ minimum automatic enrolment pension contributions
Koyal Barnes started his job with Make UK in February this year. He studied sport at college, but he was unemployed and was told about Kickstart by his local Jobcentre.
“I sent in an email with my CV and had a Zoom interview for a job in the general warehouse,” Barnes said, and added that he shadowed someone until he felt comfortable.
“I actually settled in very quickly because everyone was very welcoming, and I could feel the training giving me confidence.”
Peter Davies is the chair of the Westminster Advisory Board of Make UK.
“We’re very much a family firm and recruiting staff who want to stay with us has always been part of what we do,” Davies said.
Although he initially thought the Kickstart Scheme was not suitable for them, Davies realised there was a way around it.
“I didn’t think it could work for us as an SME, because the Kickstart Scheme is organised in groups of 30 and we couldn’t take that many at one time. However, Make UK stepped in as the umbrella body, so different SMEs could get involved and we started with three people.
“We asked them if they wanted to work fulltime, which they did, so we fund that extra 10 hours a week ourselves and gave them the same training as any new start.
“Our intention is to offer them a permanent job at the end of their training and Koyal has a very promising future if he’d like to stay on with us. He has been with us the longest and we’ve now put in for another 10 to join us.” Employers also have access to the apprenticeship scheme, which has now been extended to September 30. There will be a flat payment of £3,000 for new apprentices (of all ages) who start until September 30 in England.
Mustafa Hamed, is 21, and an apprentice civil engineer with Jones Brothers. He’s currently working on laying the onshore cabling for the Dogger Windfarm, set to be the world’s biggest offshore windfarm. Hamed, whose family are refugees from Iraq, grew up in Wigan in Greater Manchester.
He did his GCSEs in engineering and said he his heart was set on doing something linked to it.
Hamed recalled how (aged 19) he walked into a site in Wigan where Jones Brothers was doing a road job. He spoke to the project manager about finding a job and, luckily, was hired. “It was really special to be a part of that because I’ve lived there since I first came to the UK, so I was working on my hometown.
“I was a labourer and machine operator when I first joined – driving diggers, bulldozers, dumpers, which allowed me to gain experience and the knowledge of how a site works and how jobs are carried out. I worked my way up from being a labourer and here I am today doing [my second] apprenticeship for civil engineering.
“Coming from labouring to cable installation – those are two completely different things, but now I can go to a site where there’s drainage as well as a road job and I know about both things. “I’m very grateful to have that opportunity.”
Hamed started his first apprenticeship in June 2019 and when he completed that, he began a second one to become a civil engineer. “As an engineer, you have to do a lot of problem solving. You always think ahead and that’s what I’ve learned. Now I’m always thinking 10 steps ahead, what do I need to do later on, what do I need to do tomorrow. I’m always planning,” he said.
“I’ve gained a lot of responsibility and been independent, which has helped me. There are skills I’ll be using as my life goes on.
“My mum and dad are always telling me how proud they are of me and so do my older brothers. My dad runs a takeaway business. I don’t want to personally go down that route. I wanted to do my own thing and be independent.”
Hamed reckons a degree at a university was not for him. “For anyone who learns like I do, by getting stuck in, I would recommend the apprenticeship route,” he said. “Jones Brothers has been amazing; they’ve given me everything and they have looked after me. They gave me a chance. They trust me. Even if I mess something up, they will give me a second chance because my boss says you learn from your mistakes.”
A traineeship helps candidates with work experience so that they can gain employment or take on an apprenticeship. The government has set aside additional funding of £126 million in the academic year 2021-2022 for continued growth of traineeships to support more young people into employment. Traineeships are available in England only.
There are employer incentives of £1,000 per trainee per employer for up to 10 trainees per region (there are nine regions) for delivering a work placement lasting a minimum of 70 hours.
Adam Stallwood, 24, from Wycombe, is a trainee with Toolshed and has described how transformative the experience in the construction industry was. “I’d never used a drill, I’d barely
touched a screwdriver; I really had no practical experience at all,” he said. “I was quite a different person, and learning these skills and trades gave me a more disciplined mindset.”
Adam Stallwood, 24, from Wycombe, is a trainee with Toolshed and has described how transformative the experience in the construction industry was. “I’d never used a drill, I’d barely touched a screwdriver; I really had no practical experience at all,” he said. “I was quite a different person, and learning these skills and trades gave me a more disciplined mindset.”
He valued the opportunity Toolshed gave him to future employment. “But you have to earn it, and you have to have the right attitude,” Stallwood said. “It got me in that mindset of working hard. I wanted it and I knew I had a lot of other students I was up against who I felt were more qualified than me. So, I worked really hard to get the job.”
For four years he worked in the painting decorating trade, before he was given the opportunity to teach students with Toolshed – a dream he’d harboured as a schoolboy. “I am teaching, which is what I wanted to do years ago, and I never thought in a million years that would happen. It’s crazy.”
Another route to the labour market is through T Levels, industry placements which are suited for entry-level skills, enabling candidates to develop the knowledge, attitude, and practical skills to succeed.
David Lett is a co-founder of New Meaning, a social enterprise which runs traineeships and helps youngsters to find meaningful work placements. “Helping young people figure out how they’re going to earn their own living is the only reason we exist,” said Lett, 53.
New Meaning’s training business launched in 2015 and their construction course in 2018. They offer a construction skills course, through which 16 to 24-year-olds are given workplace experience on their sites. “The biggest challenge that young people have, irrespective of academic abilities, is they’ve got no experience,” Lett said. “But they still have an expectation of progress; they want to develop.
“What we wanted was to be a role model as a progressive, socially orientated employer. So every project we have, we want a training component attached so there’s an opportunity for young people to come through.”
Many of the 16-year-olds joining their work and study programme have found school and college settings unsuited to them, but are motivated to start work. It’s a win-win situation for employers such as Lett, and for the young trainees. “We get new talent, new capability, a modern vibe, an understanding of new trends,” he said. In addition, Lett said older staff members benefit from learning how to train young people, and build trust and rapport.
“They get the reward of giving back; their job becomes much more meaningful. And young people get the opportunity to experience something and have a go.”
Laura-Jane Rawlings, CEO, Youth Employment UK, said, “Young people are actively looking for opportunities that support them to learn and grow in quality employment.
“Schemes such as Kickstart, Traineeships, Apprenticeships, T Levels and Sector Based Work Academies give young people the opportunity to start experiencing work, grow their skills and boost their confidence.
“Employers can utilise these schemes to grow their youth employment strategy, support skill development and increase productivity.
“Young people are curious, talented, and bursting with potential. They are looking for quality, youth friendly opportunities which is why we are happy to support the development of this Toolkit and the organisations already supporting young people.”
For more information on the support available to employers and young people visit the Plan for Jobs page gov.uk/plan-for-jobs
The Kickstart scheme is available to businesses in England, Wales and Scotland
For details available on incentives for Northern Ireland, visit www.communities-ni.gov.uk/articles/apply-jobstart-scheme-funding
T Levels and Traineeships are available in England only
Businesses should check their eligibility for each of the schemes