With levels of youth unemployment at their highest since 2016, the Offploy team is urging businesses to make the most of Government-funded work placements.
House of Commons Library statistics show the number of young people claiming unemployment-related benefits increased by 281,000 between March to November 2020 – a rise of 119%. And, in a bid to combat the soaring figures, Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled his £2 billion ‘Kickstart’ scheme in July 2020.
The initiative has already funded thousands of job opportunities for those at risk of long-term unemployment, and we are currently representing 133 active employers through the scheme – supporting 124 young people, who are receiving Universal Credit, in obtaining sustainable roles.
Now we want other companies to embrace the opportunity to offer six-monthly work placements to those aged between aged 16 to 24 – with wages paid entirely by the Government, as well as up to £1,500 in support grants, per candidate.
Jacob Hill, our founder, explained: “Statistics show that 591,000 young people aged 16-24 were unemployed in September-November 2020 – an increase of 10,000 from the previous quarter and an increase of 109,000 from the year before.
“As such, it’s harder than ever for young people to get their foot on the career ladder, with few employers willing to give a chance to those who didn’t continue in education or find work upon leaving school.
“This programme is designed to encourage young people to make a positive contribution to society, while removing the element of risk from the HR department."
"What could be better than the opportunity to ‘trial’ a worker, completely risk-free, for six months – with the cost of wages, onboarding, and training requirements covered?”
We are one of several hundred gateways enabling access to the scheme, and each placement recruited via the Offploy team will allow us to reinvest revenue into helping some of society’s most vulnerable people find work.
The registration process involves completing a short form, with Offploy’s team taking care of the rest. HR managers and company leaders can sign up via www.offploy.org/kickstart
*All stats taken from: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn05871/ (correct as of 22/02/2021).