Bishop's Stortford MP Julie Marson backs Kickstart for youth jobs
Bishop's Stortord's MP Julie Marson is urging businesses to sign up to a new scheme to ease youth unemployment.
The £2 billion Kickstart scheme has been designed to create jobs across the UK for those aged 16 to 24 claiming Universal Credit.
Employers will be able to offer them a six-month work placement funded by the Government which will pay 100% of the national minimum wage, National Insurance and pension contribution for 25 hours a week.
Businesses can top up the package if they wish and will be paid £1,500 for each young person they take on to support associated costs such as training.
Mrs Marson, the Conservative MP for Hertford and Stortford, said: "The Kickstart scheme is really important for our Hertford and Stortford community. I'm asking all employers interested in signing up to do so and to get in touch with me if I can help at all.
"My priority is making sure that young people are still able to climb the ladder of opportunity despite the challenges that the pandemic has presented.
"The scheme will upskill so many, and I will work alongside employers to ensure that our young people have the very best opportunities.
"I'm particularly pleased that our local JobCentre Plus branches will take a leading role in referring young people to these roles. I know from my visits to these branches how hard the work coaches and other staff work to provide employment opportunities to residents and I would like to thank them all for this."
The scheme will run until December 2021 but can be extended. Young people will be referred to the new roles through their JobCentre Plus work coach, with the first Kickstart expected to begin at the start of November.
There are more than 700,000 young people leaving education this year. During lockdown, they were more likely to have been furloughed than the general population – 47 % compared to 32%.
As of July, there were almost 538,000 young people aged 24 and under on Universal Credit, an increase of 250,000 since March.