Business Action | April / May 2021
April / May 2021 issue of the independent North Devon-based business magazine covering news on business and enterprise in the area. This issue announces the finalists in the Business Action North Devon Business Awards 2021 plus features on electric cars, businesses participating in the Government's Kickstart scheme and our Business Activists answering your business questions. And there's news of businesses of every size and sector from the communities across North Devon.
April / May 2021 issue of the independent North Devon-based business magazine covering news on business and enterprise in the area. This issue announces the finalists in the Business Action North Devon Business Awards 2021 plus features on electric cars, businesses participating in the Government's Kickstart scheme and our Business Activists answering your business questions. And there's news of businesses of every size and sector from the communities across North Devon.
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KICKSTART<br />
Kickstarting jobs for young people<br />
Since the Kickstart scheme<br />
waslaunchedbythe<br />
GovernmentinJuly2020,<br />
manyNorthDevonemployers<br />
haveparticipatedinthe<br />
programmebyofferingjob<br />
placementstoyoungpeople.A<br />
responsetothemassive<br />
impactofCoronaviruson<br />
employment,Kickstart<br />
supportsyoungpeoplefrom<br />
allbackgrounds.<br />
Kickstartcomprisesa£2<br />
billionnationalfundtocreate<br />
hundredsofthousandsof<br />
high-qualitysix-monthjob<br />
Trustandworkonourstrategic<br />
andbusinessplanningwiththe<br />
Trust’sseniorexecutiveand<br />
alsomakesurethatweadhere<br />
toallofourresponsibilities<br />
withtheCharityCommission.<br />
Weworkwithmany<br />
organisations,including<br />
externalregulatorssuchasthe<br />
CareQualityCommissionand<br />
DevonCountyCouncilareour<br />
trustedpartnersaswellasour<br />
commissionerswhobuyour<br />
servicesonbehalfofthepeople<br />
wesupport.Wealsoworkwith<br />
housingorganisationson<br />
developingoursupported<br />
livingwork–weprovidethe<br />
careandthehousing<br />
organisationsthetenancies.We<br />
arenowstartingtoworkin<br />
NorthCornwallwithCornwall<br />
CountyCouncil.<br />
Ourprojectedturnoverfor<br />
thenewfinancialyearstarting<br />
in<strong>April</strong>showsanincreaseof<br />
55%ontheyearjustending.<br />
Ourprojectedturnoverfor<br />
2024is£8.6million.Wehave<br />
investedinourworkforceand<br />
madeourowncommitmentto<br />
improvingpayandconditions<br />
bybeingaccountabletothe<br />
peoplewesupportby<br />
employingthebeststaffwecan<br />
throughourrecruitmentand<br />
trainingincludingour<br />
involvementinthe<br />
Government’sKickstart<br />
scheme.<br />
Kickstart placements<br />
Wesawtheobviousvalueof<br />
theKickstartschemewhenit<br />
wasintroduced.Asoneofthe<br />
firstorganisationstoapply,we<br />
wereawarded30Kickstartjob<br />
placementsinourownrightin<br />
placementsforyoungpeople,<br />
aspartofthePlanforJobs.<br />
Fundingforeachplacement<br />
coverstherelevantNational<br />
MinimumWagefor25hoursa<br />
weekplusassociatedemployer<br />
NationalInsuranceand<br />
employerminimumautomatic<br />
enrolmentcontributions.<br />
Thereisalsofundingfor<br />
developingnewskillsand<br />
supportformovinginto<br />
sustainedemploymentafter<br />
completionoftheKickstartfundedjob.Currently,<br />
Kickstartprioritisesyoung<br />
October2020andwehaveso<br />
farfilled26ofthem.Wehave<br />
nowappliedforafurther10job<br />
placementstakingourtotalto<br />
40.Thismeanswecanhelp<br />
localunemployedyoungpeople<br />
onUniversalCreditaged16-24<br />
todeveloptheskillsand<br />
trainingtheywillneedtofind<br />
long-termemploymentwith<br />
theaddedvaluefortheTrustof<br />
encouragingthemduringthe<br />
six-monthplacementtoremain<br />
withusincareersinsocialcare.<br />
Theschemedictatesthatwe<br />
mustemployeachyoung<br />
personinanewrolefora<br />
minimumof25hoursaweek<br />
onatleasttheNational<br />
MinimumWagefortheirage.<br />
Wepaymorethanthatat£9.66<br />
anhour.TheDepartmentof<br />
WorkandPensionsfundseach<br />
youngpersonforthefullsix<br />
monthssotheincentivesfor<br />
employerstousethescheme<br />
aremassive.NewDWPrules<br />
putintoplaceinFebruary<strong>2021</strong><br />
meanthatemployerscanapply<br />
foranynumberofjob<br />
placements,meaningitismore<br />
flexibleandmoreattractiveto<br />
smalleremployers.So,ineffect,<br />
wehavethepotentialfor40<br />
fully-fundedplacements<br />
including32frontlinecareroles<br />
andeightcentralteamsupport<br />
roles,includingadmin,<br />
training,healthandsafety,<br />
humanresources,socialmedia,<br />
IT,propertyliaisonand<br />
buildingsmaintenance,toadd<br />
alotofextravaluetowhatwe<br />
canoffertothepeopleneeding<br />
oursupport.<br />
ManyoftheKickstart<br />
peoplewehaveappointedlost<br />
previousjobsbecauseofCovid<br />
peopleaged16to24.<br />
InNorthDevon,Kickstart<br />
ismanagedbyJobcentrePlus<br />
throughSaharaStockwell,<br />
Kickstartdistrictaccount<br />
manageratDepartmentfor<br />
WorkandPensionsDevon&<br />
Cornwall,andcolleagueTony<br />
George,employeradviser.<br />
“Lotsofemployershave<br />
madebidsthathavebeen<br />
accepted,”saysSahara.“We<br />
promotethesetothework<br />
coacheswhopromotethemto<br />
jobseekers.Thereisahuge<br />
numberofjobseekersand<br />
orareuniversityorcollege<br />
graduatesnewtothejob<br />
marketwithCovidmakingit<br />
difficultforthemtofindwork.<br />
Ifwecanretainmostofthe<br />
Kickstartemployeesbeyond<br />
thesix-monthplacement,then<br />
itsavesonourfuture<br />
recruitmentcosts,sousing<br />
Kickstartreallyisa‘nobrainer’!<br />
OurKickstartworkrecently<br />
featuredonBBCTVSpotlight<br />
andonBBCRadioDevon,<br />
wherewealsohighlightedthe<br />
experiencesofparentsand<br />
familiesnowbeingableto<br />
recommencetheirvisitstotheir<br />
familymemberlivinginour<br />
residentiallodges.Covidhas<br />
separatedfamiliesfromtheir<br />
lovedoneswesupportandwe<br />
haveusedothermeansof<br />
communicationtokeepthem<br />
intouchincludingvideos,<br />
ZOOM,photographsandour<br />
EyeGazetechnology.<br />
George Stocker<br />
GeorgeStockermovedfrom<br />
losinghissalesjobduring<br />
Covidtounemployedtothe<br />
roleofpropertyliaisonofficer<br />
withtheTrust.Georgehasa<br />
firstclassbusinessdegreeand<br />
seestheKickstartopportunity<br />
youngpeoplearegetting<br />
fantasticopportunities.<br />
“Employershavetooffer<br />
wrap-aroundsupport,helping<br />
keepCVsuptodateand<br />
providingrelevanttraining.”<br />
ReadaboutNorthDevon<br />
jobseekersandemployers<br />
benefitingfromKickstarton<br />
pages12to14.<br />
■ Visitgov.uk/kickstartorto<br />
discussopportunities,contact<br />
SaharaStockwell<br />
sahara.stockwell@dwp.gov.uk<br />
orTonyGeorge<br />
tony.george@dwp.gov.uk<br />
as“careerchangingandareal<br />
eyeopenerintotheworldof<br />
thecaresector–abrilliant<br />
opportunity”.<br />
Cerys Pilman<br />
CerysPilmanlostherjobin<br />
thelocalhospitalitytradeand<br />
seesherKickstartsupport<br />
workeropportunitywiththe<br />
Trustas“lifechanginganda<br />
newcareerpath”.<br />
Jobcentre Plus support<br />
Wehavehadthebonusof<br />
supportfromtheBidefordJob<br />
CentrethroughSahara<br />
Stockwellandherwork<br />
coaches.Theworkcoachesrefer<br />
youngpeoplefortheTrust’s<br />
Kickstartrolesandsupport<br />
themintheirjobsearches.<br />
Sahararecentlyfeatured<br />
withtheTrustinaspecial<br />
KickstartShowcaseEvent<br />
involvingMimsDavies,<br />
MinisterforEmployment.The<br />
Trustnowworksintrue<br />
partnershipwiththeDWPand<br />
JobcentrePlusinjoining<br />
togethertoofferreal<br />
employmentopportunitiesto<br />
youngpeopleinNorthDevon.<br />
■ Visitnorthamcaretrust.co.uk<br />
@businessactionm | <strong>April</strong> / <strong>May</strong> <strong>2021</strong> | business action 13
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