The pandemic has caused significant issues for young people looking to get their first foothold on the employment ladder, with firms reluctant to take on new staff during with huge uncertainty around.
That’s why the success of the Kickstart scheme in Bradford has been so important, providing valuable workplace experience for 16-to-25-year-olds across the district leading to hundreds of jobs.
Bradford Council says around 800 jobs have now been created through the scheme, which is part of the wider Future Boost programme, which is a commitment from the council to guarantee to help young people into employment, education, or training.
Jay Ambrose is one of the young people to have benefitted from the scheme, and he has just finished an administration support placement with Bradford Council’s Outdoor Education and Work Experience Team.
Thanks to the Kickstart scheme, he will be progressing onto a Level 3 Business Apprenticeship with the same team.
He said: “I am really enjoying my time working for Bradford Council. My managers and work colleagues are all really friendly, helpful and keen to help me in my development. I think this time has given me valuable experience in the working world.
“The Kickstart placement increased my confidence and I have gained skills that I can take with me into any future job role.”
The scheme has so far placed around 400 young people in roles within the Council and a further 350 with other local employers, working in partnership with SkillsHouse and the Department for Work and Pensions.
Placements have ranged from the Council, education providers, the NHS, food industry, hospitality, the voluntary sector and a range of small independent businesses.
Councillor Imran Khan, Bradford Council’s deputy leader and portfolio holder for Education, Employment and Skills, says the scheme has been vitally important for getting people back into work as businesses recover.
“Our young people in the district were among the hardest hit by the pandemic. It’s great to see the opportunities Kickstart has given them to work within different teams in the Council and local businesses,” he said.
“Their new perspective and insight will be invaluable as they progress further in the world of work, and their contribution to the work of the council has been greatly appreciated.”
Bradford Council along with the Local Government Organisation played an important part in lobbying the chancellor to extend the scheme which allowed young people to take up placements until the end of March.
The Kickstart scheme is a vital part of the council’s toolkit helping young people not already working, studying or training, to find a job, including work experience or a paid placement, get a place at college or university, or secure an apprenticeship, training programme or volunteering role.
Other organisations have also played key roles in helping young people find work, including Keighley College, which is currently looking to place 100 apprentices in as many days.
The Bradford Road campus launched its campaign back in February at the start of National Apprenticeship Week.
The work been done by the college and other providers in Keighley has been praised by the town’s MP Robbie Moore in Parliament.
He said the Government could use Keighley success stories as a model for the rest of the country during a parliamentary question to Education Minister Michelle Donelan,
Referring to a recent visit to Byworth Boiler, he praised the efforts of the company and others across the town to provide young people with high-skilled work.
He said: “Apprenticeships give young people a great way to learn while they are working, and to take a fast-tracked route to a highly-skilled job. For employers, apprentices bring passion and energy into their business.”
Clare Fitzgerald, Keighley College’s head of stakeholder engagement, said the 100 apprentices in 100 days campaign aimed to help support businesses in developing skills for the future and to increase the number of apprentices, as part of the levelling-up agenda.
She added: “We want to be the provider that helps people take their careers to the next level and we’re delighted to be running this fantastic initiative again.
“Whether you’re just starting your first job or looking to make a career change, we want to support you. We also want to address the staff shortages and supply chain disruption faced by many businesses in Keighley and surrounding areas.
“The business advantages of taking on an apprentice have never been more significant.
“More and more employers today are seeing the benefits of apprenticeships, with several businesses in the Keighley district – including Airedale Hospital, Produmax and Canvasman – working in partnership with us to deliver a comprehensive apprenticeship programme.
“We would like to engage with as many businesses as possible to create the type of opportunities that will be beneficial, both to the apprentice and employer.”
Last year, a similar effort by the college saw it placing 150 apprentices in sectors including business, hospitality, engineering and health and social care. It was held in conjunction with Leeds City and Harrogate colleges.
Region wide, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority has been helping create apprenticeships by supporting larger businesses to use unspent apprenticeship levy funding through the Apprenticeship Levy Transfer Service.
It was recently able to help Care2Care, which provides personal and social care to vulnerable people living in their own homes across West Yorkshire, secure £30,000 funding to employ 10 new apprentices in Level 2 Adult Care Worker apprenticeship standards.
The authority supported the transfer of funding between Bradford-based banking giant Santander and Care2Care through the Levy Transfer Service, which engages with apprenticeship levy paying businesses to encourage them to pledge up to 25% of their unspent apprenticeship levy through the service.
Pledged levy is then transferred to non-levy paying businesses taking on apprentices to cover 100% of the training costs.
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire said: “Being able to meet with the Care2Care team, including their apprentices, has really brought to life how fantastic the Apprenticeship Levy Transfer Service is. Without it, these 10 apprentices wouldn’t have been given this opportunity to start professions we so desperately need, not only in West Yorkshire but nationally too.
“Supporting over 220 apprentices across West Yorkshire and York is a brilliant achievement and I encourage any levy paying business to get in touch so that their funding can be used to support more people into employment whilst growing our talent pools and boosting our local economy.”
Gill Walbank, CEO at Care2Care, said: “This significant contribution from our wonderful colleagues at Santander, has already impacted upon our staff team, in an extremely positive way.
“We have been able to provide multiple opportunities for progression and development, and will continue to do so, thanks to the vision of our levy funders,” she said.
“We have also been able to secure a new and exciting training facility, which will further enhance the experience for our staff teams, and ensure we can provide the skills and knowledge, to our staff team, in achieving the highest levels of care and support, to our very special cohort of service users. Our thanks cannot be expressed enough”.
Through engaging with Levy paying companies, the Combined Authority aims to secure £3million of Levy to support businesses and their future workforce through apprenticeships.
Businesses with an annual pay bill of over £3million pay an apprenticeship levy, if their levy is not spent within 24 months, it is returned to central government. This transfer service allows the levy to be spent on support for local people and businesses, instead of expiring in apprenticeship service accounts.
For non-levy paying employers, the government will fund 95% of the cost of training an apprentice, with a 5% contribution from the employer. A levy transfer avoids the business having to pay the 5% contribution, which is an attractive offer when apprenticeships can cost up to £27,000.
Pledging companies include Amazon, ASDA, Santander and Yorkshire Building Society.
