What Kick have you given my Start, Rishi?

A year ago, in the wake of the first Covid 19 lockdown, Rishi Sunak announced a government initiative to create job opportunities for young people at risk of long-term unemployment. It was called the Kickstart scheme. 

Business West became an approved 'gateway organisation' for the Kickstart scheme to help smaller businesses in their application process and strengthen the region’s economy through quality job placements and wrap-around employability support. 

Venturing into the world of work for the first time is always a daunting prospect but to do this during a global pandemic, when the UK’s economy shrunk faster than at any point in the past 100 years,  took the challenge to a whole new level. As economists predicted the worst economic performance since the Great Frost of 1709, I was one of the 800,000  students who graduated in the summer of 2020, two months into the global pandemic.  

As fears of long-term unemployment amongst 16–25-year-olds grew, Rishi Sunak introduced the Kickstarter scheme on 8th July 2020. The aim of the scheme was to create ‘an opportunity to kickstart the careers of thousands of young people who could otherwise be left behind as a result of the pandemic.’   

Spending my days at home unsuccessfully applying for job after job, relying on universal credit, wondering how else to pass the time while itching for this new stage in life to begin, the Kickstarter scheme was exactly what I needed to 'kick start' the next stage in my life; mine and many thousands of other 16-25 year olds.  

There came a point when I asked my work coach if she could send me more Kickstarter jobs. She told me I had applied for them all. So, you can imagine my relief when, with nothing new to apply for, I finally got a job offer. 

Whilst Government advice was still to ‘work from home if you can’, my employer wanted me in an office environment to gain the most from my placement. Having an office space and an imposed routine was hugely important and beneficial to me at a time when routine was something which had become unfamiliar territory and a desired luxury.

The Kickstarter scheme has enabled me to embark on my post-graduation working life in Bristol. I am now almost halfway through my placement. My kickstart job is with Let’s Walk Bristol, a company putting together a large walking festival. Throughout my job I have learnt how to use social media platforms, working as a team to collaborate on a collective vision. I have used my photography skills and written news articles to promote each walk as part of the walking festival. 

I also have a dedicated external mentor who I speak to once a month as part of the wrap-around service organised by Business West. She is there for advice and support and her organisation has put together a series of employability workshops to help me find ongoing employment once my placement ends. 

Accessing this job opportunity, through the scheme, has opened my eyes to future possible career paths, which I hadn’t realised were an option for me before. I have gained new skills and discovered ones I didn’t know I had. To my surprise, I have been allowed to apply my own creativity to the role, which I gained from completing a creative degree at university. In fact, this article would not exist if it wasn’t for my Kickstarter placement. Writing is something I had never considered before.

Find out how  your business can get involved

By creating a Kickstart job placement, you are helping young people aged 16-24 who are at risk of long term unemployment. Find out whether your business meets the criteria and apply here.