If you’re an employer looking to create jobs placements for young people, you can apply for funding as part of the Kickstart Scheme.
How the scheme works
The Kickstart Scheme provides funding to create new job placements for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long term unemployment. Employers of all sizes can apply for funding which covers:
- 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
- associated employer National Insurance contributions
- employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions
Employers can spread the start date of the job placements up until the end of December 2021.
Further funding is available to provide support so that young people on the scheme can get a job in the future.
How to apply
You can apply for a Kickstart Scheme grant by either:
- applying online yourself
- getting help from a Kickstart gateway who is already working with the Kickstart Scheme
You can add more job placements to your grant agreement if you or your gateway already has one. You do not need to apply again.
What is a Kickstart gateway
A Kickstart gateway already has a Kickstart Scheme grant agreement with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). They can add employers and job placements to this grant agreement.
A Kickstart gateway can be any type of organisation, such as a local authority, charity or trade body.
Kickstart gateways will:
- gather information about the job placements you’d like to offer
- share this information with DWP on your behalf
- pay the funding to you (for example the young person’s salary)
They may also offer employability support to the young people in the job placement.
What you’ll get
£1,500 per job placement
You’ll get £1,500 funding per job placement. This is for setup costs and to support the young person develop their employability skills. If someone else helps you to do some of this for you, you’ll have to agree how you will share this money.
Kickstart Scheme wages and related costs
The funding covers:
- 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
- associated employer National Insurance contributions
- employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions
Employers can pay a higher wage and for more hours but the funding will not cover this.
What the Kickstart gateway will get
Kickstart gateways will get £360 for each job placement to cover admin costs. They may have to pay VAT on this amount depending on their individual circumstances.
If they do not pay VAT, £60 from this payment will be paid to you by the Kickstart gateway (in addition to the £1,500 funding) to further support the young person.
Job placement criteria
The job placements created with Kickstart Scheme funding must be new jobs. They must not:
- replace existing or planned vacancies
- cause existing employees, apprentices or contractors to lose work or reduce their working hours
The job placements must:
- be a minimum of 25 hours per week, for 6 months
- pay at least the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wage for the employee’s age group
- only require basic training
For each job placement you must help the young person become more employable. This could include:
- looking for long-term work, including career advice and setting goals
- support with curriculum vitae (CV) and interview preparations
- developing their skills in the workplace
If you are not eligible for Kickstart Scheme funding, find out about other employment schemes.
The young person may be able to move to another employment scheme when they’ve finished their 6-month Kickstart Scheme job placement.
What you need to provide
You will need:
- your Companies House reference number, Charity Commission number or Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator number, if you have one
- your organisation address and contact details
- details of the job placements and their location
DWP performs due diligence checks on all employers and Kickstart gateways using the Cabinet Office Spotlight tool.
Tell us or your Kickstart gateway how your job placements are new and created just for the scheme.
The job placements must not:
- replace existing or planned vacancies
- cause existing employees, apprentices or contractors to lose work or reduce their working hours
Tell us or your Kickstart gateway:
- how many employees you have
- about changes to your workforce in the last 6 months and why (for example redundancies and changes to hours worked by existing staff)
- the number of people affected by changes to your workforce in the last 6 months
- about the kinds of roles, functions and average salary of those who were made redundant or who had their hours reduced in the last 6 months
- if you would be able to create these job placements without Kickstart Scheme funding and what funding source you would use
- what recruitment you have completed, started or paused in the last 6 months, including how similar these vacancies are or were to the roles you are creating for the Kickstart Scheme
- if the job placements will be similar to existing or planned roles or the roles previously done by those made redundant or with fewer working hours, why you are using Kickstart Scheme funding to create similar roles
- if you’ve engaged with any relevant trade unions and any advice the unions have given
How you will support young people to become more employable
Tell us or your Kickstart gateway:
- what support will be offered (for example helping them with writing their CV and preparing for an interview)
- when you will provide this support (for example halfway through their job placement or towards the end)
- how many hours it will take
- who will provide the support (for example you may already have a pre-existing relationship with training providers)
- how you will monitor this support
- how the young person can provide feedback during their job placement and afterwards, and how this will be acted on
You get £1,500 funding per job placement for setup costs and support. If you someone else helps you do some of this, you’ll have to agree how you will share this money.
How you will get the funding
If you apply online, DWP will send the funding directly to you.
If you apply through a Kickstart gateway, DWP will send the funding to them. The Kickstart gateway will be responsible for sending the funding to you.
£1,500 per job placement
If you apply directly, the £1,500 setup costs will be paid when you tell us that the young person has started the job placement.
If you apply through a Kickstart gateway, you need to tell them when the young person starts their job placement. They can then send you the £1,500 setup costs.
If you get someone else to do some of the job placement setup or employability support for you, you’ll have to agree how you will share this money.
Kickstart Scheme wages and related costs
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will use information from HMRC to check that the young person is still employed. The grant funding to pay the young person’s salary will be paid in monthly arrears when we know they are:
- enrolled on your payroll
- being paid through Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
You can pay a higher wage and for more hours but the funding will not cover this.
Getting the young people into the job placements
Kickstart Scheme job placements are only available for Universal Credit claimants aged 16 to 24 who are referred to you by DWP.
If your application is successful:
- You or your Kickstart gateway will give DWP job descriptions that work coaches at Jobcentre Plus will use.
- The work coaches will match suitable candidates to the job placements.
- You’ll then be able to interview the candidates matched to your job placements.
- You’ll select the candidate best suited to the role.
Funding will only be given if a young person is hired using the Kickstart Scheme process.
After a job placement ends you can get another Kickstart Scheme young person to start another job placement.
How to apply
You can apply for a Kickstart Scheme grant by either:
- applying online yourself
- getting help from a Kickstart gateway who is already working with the Kickstart Scheme
Apply online
You will need to provide information about the job placements during the application.
Public sector organisations and exempt charities should enter ‘0’ when asked for a Companies House or Charity Commission number.
Apply through a Kickstart gateway
Find a Kickstart gateway that is already working with the Kickstart Scheme.
Whoever represents you will add your job placements to their existing grant agreement with DWP. You’ll need to give them information about the job placements.
After you have applied
We’ll aim to email you or your Kickstart gateway with a decision on the application within one month.
The job placements do not exist until the application has been approved and you have signed the grant agreement with DWP or your Kickstart gateway.
Add more job placements to your grant agreement
You can add more job placements to your grant agreement after it has been approved. You do not need to apply again.
The additional job placements will be assessed to make sure they meet the Kickstart Scheme criteria.
If you applied directly, get in touch with your local or national Kickstart Scheme contact for information about how to add more job placements to your grant agreement.
If you applied through a Kickstart gateway, tell them you’d like to add more job placements to the grant agreement. They will contact DWP to arrange this.
Other employment schemes
Kickstart Scheme is part of the government’s Plan for Jobs. Other employment schemes in this include:
Apprenticeships
You may be able to get funding for any apprentices you employ in England. Find out more about apprenticeships.
Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP)
Jobcentre Plus can support you to create a skilled workforce for your business by offering unemployed people sector-based work academies in England and Scotland.
Traineeships
Employers in England can also help young people by setting up a traineeship. Funding is available for this scheme.