The Kickstart Scheme

It will provide funding to help employers support the creation of 6-month job placements for: 

• 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment
• who are ready for an opportunity, supported by their Jobcentre Plus work coach.

The placements created under the Kickstart Scheme must be new jobs. They should also support participants to develop the skills and experience they need to find work after completing the scheme and so include an element of funding to cover support and training. 

Employees funded under the Kickstart Scheme are not apprenticeships, but participants may move on to an apprenticeship at any time during or after their placement. 

Employers recruiting through Kickstart cannot require people to undertake extensive training before they begin the placement. However, in order to make a successful application to the Kickstart scheme employers need to show how they will provide employability support, or work with other organisations to provide employability support, to develop participants’ skills and experience, including: 

• Looking for long-term work, including career advice and setting goals. 
• CV and interview preparations. 
• Basic skills, such as attendance, timekeeping, teamwork, communication and travelling to work. 

Employers in Wales, England, and Scotland are eligible to apply. Any organisation, regardless of size, can apply for funding. 

Applications must be for a minimum of 30 job placements. Employers unable to offer 30 placements can partner with other organisations to reach this minimum number. 

Where an application is successful, funding will be paid to cover: 

• 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage (NMW) for 25 hours a week. 
• Associated employer National Insurance contributions. 
• Employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions. 
• A payment of £1,500 per job placement for setup costs, support and training.  

Initial setup costs will be paid when it is confirmed that the young person has started work, is enrolled on payroll and is being paid through PAYE. 

DWP will use information from HMRC to check that the young person is still employed and will then pay the remainder of the grant in arrears. 

To be eligible for Kickstart funding job placements must be: 

• New jobs. 
• A minimum of 25 hours per week, for 6 months. 
• Paid at least the NMW for the age group employed (The NMW is £4.55 an hour for those aged under 18, £6.45 for 18 to 20 year olds, and £8.20 for 21 to 24 year olds.) 

In addition, employers need to show how they will provide employability support, or work with other organisations to provide employability support, to develop participants’ skills and experience, including: 

• Looking for long-term work, including career advice and setting goals. 
• CV and interview preparations. 
• Basic skills, such as attendance, timekeeping, teamwork, communication and travelling to work. 

Job placements must not: 

• Replace existing or planned vacancies. 
• Cause existing employees or contractors to lose or reduce their employment. 
• Require people to undertake extensive training before they begin the placement. 

Once a job placement is created, it can be taken up by a second person once the first successful applicant has completed their 6-month term.

Employers creating 30 or more job placements can apply directly.

Employers creating fewer than 30 placements cannot apply directly. In these cases, employers can either: 

1. Partner with others to create a minimum of 30 placements and nominate a representative. Partners can include similar employers, local authorities, trade bodies, chambers of commerce and registered charities. Or,
2. Register their interest with existing representatives, such as local authorities, chambers of commerce or trade bodies. Local or national DWP Kickstart Scheme contacts can help employers find a representative. 

In both cases the representative will be responsible for checking the placements are eligible for the Kickstart Scheme and submitting the application.  

Representatives must have: 

• Experience of managing partnership agreements with third parties. 
• Robust financial and governance processes to manage the application. 

£300 of funding is available for representatives to support administrative costs. 

Organisations can contact the local or national Kickstart Scheme employer contact for help.  

The application form requires the following information: 

• Confirmation that the 30+ placements meet the criteria. 
• Organisation address contact details the Companies House reference number or Charity Commission number. 
• Details of the job placements. 
• Supporting information to show that the job placements are new jobs and meet the Kickstart Scheme criteria. 
• Information about how the long-term employability of young people will be developed. 
• Where the job placements will be based (i.e East of England, East Midlands, London, North East, North West, Scotland, South East, South West, Wales, West Midlands, or Yorkshire and the Humber).

• Applications are reviewed to check they meet the requirements of the Kickstart Scheme and go to a panel for consideration. The process is not a competitive one. 
• DWP aim to respond to applications within 1 month. 

Successful applications 

• Where an application meets the requirements, employers receive a letter with a grant agreement which will need to be signed. The agreement includes what the employer has agreed to provide and the funding amount from the Kickstart Scheme. 
• Employers provide job descriptions for each of the job placements applied for which include what candidates need to do to apply for the job placement. 
• Candidates apply for the job placements and employers recruit.  

Unsuccessful applications 

• Where an application is unsuccessful feedback will be given and a new application can be submitted.  

• Kickstart Scheme – A Guide for Employers 
• Check if you can apply for a grant through the Kickstart Scheme 
• Check if you can apply for a grant as a representative of a group of employers through the Kickstart Scheme 
• Apply for a grant through the Kickstart Scheme 
• Kickstart Scheme employer contacts