Council welcomes first Kickstart applicants
Midlothian Council has welcomed the first of 30 young people to be offered job placements of no less than six months as part of the UK government’s Kickstart scheme.
A variety of roles
Eight of the successful applicants, five of whom are pictured, have taken part in a three week induction before six of them took up roles in neighbourhood services. The remaining two will be working within building maintenance.
Council-wide success
Later this year, the remainder of the young people will be placed in services including communications, communities and lifelong learning and music technology.
A tough time for young people
Midlothian Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for communities and the economy, Cllr Russell Imrie said: “As Midlothian’s largest employer, we wanted to support our young people in what has been a really tough time for them during the pandemic.
Enhancing skills and widening opportunities
“By giving young people this opportunity, we will be supporting those taking part to learn new skills and knowledge that will hopefully help them to future success. They’ll also be earning money that, in turn, will be injected back into the local economy.”
A great opportunity
Among the new starts is Craig Forbes. He said: “I am a fully qualified spray painter but I wanted to learn new skills. When I was homeless and not working, the Job Centre told me about this opportunity.
Determined to work hard
“I like the fact I’ll get to work within various services including roads and landscaping and I’m really going to prove myself in the next six months.”
30 more in Third Sector
The council is also supporting third sector partners to place up to 30 more young people in areas such as early learning and community care.
To qualify
To qualify for the scheme the young person must be:
• aged between 16-24
• claiming universal credit
National initiative
The Kickstart Scheme is a £2 billion fund, announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in July 2020, with the aim of creating hundreds of thousands of high quality 6-month work placements for young people who have lost jobs and opportunities because of coronavirus.
£10.04 an hour
The young people in Midlothian are offered a placement of 36 hours a week for six months. They will be paid £10.04 an hour more than the National Minimum Wage of £8.91 per hour for people aged 23 and above.
Focus on mental health too
As well as accredited training and working collaboratively with MYPAS, Midlothian Rangers and Cyrenians community garden, the council will offer Midlothian Kickstarters positive mental health sessions. These sessions will include outdoor excursions to places like Dalkeith Country Park, Vogrie Country Park and Roslin Glen as well as activities such as cooking outdoor and learning about the history of the area.
Support available
Cllr Imrie said: “At Kickstart it is part of the council’s ethos to promote positive mental wellbeing, to encourage the group to be open about their mental health and seek help if they or others are struggling with poor mental health.”
Lots of advice
Placements do not require extensive training beforehand and young people will also learn vital skills such as writing a CV, how to prepare for an interview and other career advice.
More information
• Find out more about the scheme
In the picture from left to right are: Mitchell Cornwall, Liam Sim, Craig Forbes, Aaron Smith and Declan Moran.