Keighley and Ilkley MP Robbie Moore held Kickstart Scheme webinar for local businesses. The webinar, which took place on 15 June via Microsoft Teams, was attended by a number of businesses and organisations across the Keighley and Ilkley constituency.
The event was hosted and promoted by local MP Robbie Moore whilst representatives from the Department for Work and Pension’s Kickstart Taskforce were there to talk about the scheme in more detail. Local businesses were then able to put their questions to the professionals.
The Government’s flagship Kickstart Scheme is aimed at getting young people between the ages of 16-24 who are at risk of long-term unemployment, into work on a 6-month paid placement. The Government covers the wages and associated taxes as well as providing the company with a grant of up to £1,500 to cover training and development costs.
Commenting Robbie said: “The Kickstart scheme is a win win for all involved. It gets young people into work who otherwise would be at risk of long-term unemployment and gives them the work experience that they need to get firmly onto the jobs market. It also benefits companies who are looking to recruit new placements at zero cost.
“As we gently wind down from the Coronavirus pandemic, it is vital that we get young people who are most at risk of long-term unemployment into the jobs market so we can build back better. Getting the right work experience at a young age is pivotal to combatting long-term unemployment.”
Commenting Angela Wysocki, Director at Calmag Ltd based in Riddlesden, who attended the webinar said: “I am grateful to Robbie and the DWP for organising and speaking at this event. It was good to hear from the experts about how the scheme can benefit us here at Calmag as well as hearing the experience of other local employers. We’ve experienced a couple of issues with the scheme so I had the chance to put our questions and concerns directly to the DWP. These are now being looked into so hopefully it shouldn’t be too long before we have a couple of Kickstart employees to support our production and engineering teams.”
For any business interested in learning more about the Kickstart Scheme, please contact the Office of Robbie Moore on [email protected]. The scheme closes on 31 December 2021.
