Job placements to be provided for 30 apprentices following successful bid by Alnwick Chamber of Trade
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It submitted an application to the £2 billion Kickstart Scheme which aims to create thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for 16 to 24-year-olds.
Thirty job placements have now been approved across 16 businesses, all but one local to the Alnwick and Amble areas.
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Hide AdToby Fletcher, of Origin Designed on the Lionheart Enterprise Park, pulled together the bid on behalf of Alnwick Chamber of Trade.
He said: “We’ve received notification from the Department of Work and Pensions that we have been successful in our application which is excellent news.
"There are opportunities with a fairly diverse range of business employers, although many of them are in retail as you might expect in an area like this.”
Among the placements are: retail assistants, shop workers, trainee bracket designers, manufacturing work, education providers and trainee financial advisers.
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Hide AdThe scheme provides funding to employers to create new six-month job placements for young people who are currently on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment.
However, applications must be for a minimum of 30 job placements so Chamber members got together to reach the minimum number.
Alnwick Chamber of Trade hopes to submit a further application if there is sufficient interest.
"It’s an encouraging start but the scheme is still open for further applications,” said Toby. “We’ve got eight placements waiting until we can submit another application. As soon as we get to 30 we’ll put it in.”
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Hide AdThe Kickstart Scheme forms part of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s ‘Plan for Jobs’ that aims to spur the UK’s recovery from the coronavirus outbreak.
Funding is available for 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions. There is also £1,500 per job placement available for setup costs, support and training.
The jobs will give young people – who are more likely to have been furloughed, with many working in sectors disproportionately hit by the pandemic - the opportunity to build their skills in the workplace and to gain experience to improve their chances of finding long-term work.
To find out more about the Alnwick scheme email [email protected]