More young people were given access to job opportunities at Rotherham Council under a flagship employment scheme than at any other single employer in South Yorkshire.
The Council employed more than 60 young people under the Kickstart Scheme, which aims to reduce the risk of long-term unemployment by providing six-month paid job-opportunities to 16-24 year-olds claiming Universal Credit.
Government funding for Kickstart was topped-up by £100,000 from the Council so that the young people could be paid at above the National Minimum Wage rate for their age.
A range of young people with a wide variety of skills were employed to help deliver services across the Council, from HR and IT, to cultural services and social care. The Council worked in partnership with RNN College Group on the scheme, who provided three days of training and support to the Kickstart employees.
Since the scheme ended in September this year, at least three-quarters of the young people who were taken on by the Council have secured longer-term paid jobs, moved into self-employment or gone back to education. That number includes 25 young people who have secured jobs at the Council itself.
As a thank you, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) presented an award to the Council last week.
Council Leader, Councillor Chris Read, who accepted the DWP award on behalf of the Council, said: “I am extremely proud of the way in which the Council has embraced the opportunity to give young people a chance in full-time, paid employment through the Kickstart scheme.
“To employ more young people through Kickstart than any other single employer in South Yorkshire underlines our commitment to improving the skills, employability and opportunities for young people across our borough.”
Councillor Saghir Alam, Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Community Safety and Finance, added: “The young people who joined us through the Kickstart Scheme benefitted from practical work experience, employability support, and confidence building which will aid their personal development, both now and in the future.
“The Council benefitted enormously from their contribution too. They brought a wide variety of skills, backgrounds and life experiences to our teams, providing enthusiasm and extra capacity to improve the services we provide to the public of Rotherham.”
Although the Government has now ended the Kickstart scheme, the Council will use learning from the project to attract, recruit and retain more young people into jobs with the authority in the future.