NICHOLA VENABLES: BUILDING FUTURES THROUGH KICKSTART

Nichola Venables is one of many employers offering young people an exciting new start under the Kickstart Scheme. She’s CEO of a property-tech start-up called New Build Database (nbdb), offering DIY snagging software and a free national record of fire safety, leasehold and customer service issues.

Although companies need to offer a minimum of 30 positions for Kickstart, smaller firms can pool with others to fulfil the criteria and Nichola did this through the

Federation of Small Businesses. And as a small start-up, nbdb is the ideal place to learn a broad range of skills.

“The team will learn customer service, data management, research and analysis skills and some will take on social media management,” says Nichola. “All of the roles will be remote and have some flexibility in working hours. They’ll be suitable for many people who might otherwise experience challenges or barriers to working. I hope to attract a diverse selection of candidates who all bring different qualities to the team.”

Nichola’s also excited about the ideas, skills and qualities 16-24-year-olds have to bring to the business “Their familiarity with intuitive apps will make them great test analysts for later software rollouts. I’m hoping one or two will also bring fresh ideas about approaching our customers across different social media channels. Towards the end of the programme, I’ll support them in writing CVs, practising their interviewing skills and building their brand.”