Kickstart for Schools

Win-Win is often an overused term and it's fair to say that good news has been in short supply recently. However, the Government's flagship £2 billion Kickstart scheme could provide a win-win for schools and multi academy trusts. The initiative aims to provide 16-24 year olds at risk of long-term unemployment with six-month state-subsidised work placements, paid at National Minimum Wage. The Kickstart programme has the aspiration to support the post-COVID economic recovery and indeed young people by providing them with valuable work experience and career prospects.

Kickstart promises access to a large pool of young people and an opportunity to provide much needed resource to MATs or groups of schools. It also promises a much needed opportunity for young people to get paid exposure to working in the education sector.

Naturally, these roles must be new jobs and supernumerary to the current staff and there should be no requirement for extensive training prior to start.  Funding for the roles will come from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), alongside other employment contributions.