Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Theresa Coffey MP, minister for work and pensions, announced the total earlier today [25 January].

Ministers are urging more employers to get involved and are removing one of the original requirements to simplify the initiative. The requirement to create a minimum of 30 vacancies in order to apply directly has been eliminated, the government said. 

Coffey said in a press statement: “Now is the time to prepare for post-lockdown placements, and employers will now have a choice to apply direct or through one of our 600 Kickstart gateways who may be locally connected or sector specific, providing that tailored support.”

Referrals to the Kickstart scheme will run until December 2021.

Recruitment trade bodies APSCo and the REC were approved gateways for the initiative. 

In a press statement today, REC CEO Neil Carberry said: “We will continue to offer this service to firms who do not wish to deal directly with DWP. It will be vital to ensure that removing the 30-placement cap does not cause further delays to support – so capacity will be needed to make the system work. REC members across the country are ready to help JobCentres make this work.”

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