St Helens Chamber hold Kickstart event to connect young people with local vacancies

St Helens Chamber is holding a ‘Meet the Kickstart Employer’ event for local young people aged 16-24 claiming Universal Credit to come along and meet local employers – with 92 vacancies on offer on the day.

The event is taking place November 24, 2pm-4.30pm at St Helens Chamber, and eligible local people are encouraged to come along and talk to local employers in attendance to increase their chances of submitting a successful application.

Laura Brogden, head of career development at St Helens Chamber, said: “We have some amazing employers offering Kickstart vacancies at the moment, and there’s plenty of opportunities for young people to get some valuable paid experience on their CV.

“We are encouraging any eligible young people considering starting a Kickstart placement to come along and meet the employers. By showing your interest and making the effort to come and see the employers you are really setting yourself apart from other candidates – and have a unique opportunity to get in front of the hiring managers.”

Kickstart vacancies are six month paid placements that are funded by the government. Employers taking part in the scheme work closely with St Helens Chamber to get their candidates all the training and support they need to succeed.

The chamber has already seen success with Kickstart placements, with many employers offering their Kickstarters permanent roles or apprenticeships within their company.  

Hannah and Jamie, Kickstarters at Sood Marketing, completed their placements and were offered full time apprenticeship roles with their employer. Both Hannah and Jamie felt the Kickstart scheme gave them the chance to find out what they enjoyed and where their skills lay, while gaining plenty of experience.

Jamie said: “My Kickstart placement allowed me to try lots of different things in my marketing role. I could work across the business and experience different things, the variety in the role has been really useful for me to find where my talents lie.”

Hannah added: “Kickstart allowed me to try out different tasks, and different areas of marketing to and see what I liked best, so I could see which area suited me. I don’t think I would have been able to get this type of experience without the Kickstart scheme.”

For young people wanting to find out more and book a place on the Meet the Kickstart Employer event, contact Starting Point on 01744 698800 or email info@thestartingpoint.org