First of 30 Kickstart appointees start at Midlothian Council

Midlothian Council has welcomed the first of 30 young people to be offered job placements of no less than six months as part of the UK government’s Kickstart scheme.

Five of the Kickstart appointees at Midlothian Council (left to right): Mitchell Cornwall, Liam Sim, Craig Forbes, Aaron Smith and Declan Moran.

Eight of the successful applicants have taken part in a three week induction before six of them took up roles in neighbourhood services. The remaining two will work within building maintenance.

Later this year, the remainder of the young people will be placed in services including communications, communities and lifelong learning and music technology.

Midlothian Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for communities and the economy, Cllr Russell Imrie (Lab) said: “As Midlothian’s largest employer, we wanted to support our young people in what has been a really tough time for them during the pandemic.

“By giving young people this opportunity, we will be supporting those taking part to learn new skills and knowledge that will hopefully help them to future success. They’ll also be earning money that, in turn, will be injected back into the local economy.”

One of the new starts, Craig Forbes, said: “I am a fully qualified spray painter but I wanted to learn new skills. When I was homeless and not working, the Job Centre told me about this opportunity.

“I like the fact I’ll get to work within various services including roads and landscaping and I’m really going to prove myself in the next six months.”

As well as accredited training and working collaboratively with MYPAS, Midlothian Rangers and Cyrenians community garden, the council will offer Midlothian Kickstarters positive mental health sessions.

These sessions will include outdoor excursions to places like Dalkeith Country Park, Vogrie Country Park and Roslin Glen as well as activities such as cooking outdoor and learning about the history of the area.

Cllr Imrie said: “At Kickstart it is part of the council’s ethos to promote positive mental well-being, to encourage the group to be open about their mental health and seek help if they or others are struggling with poor mental health.”

The council is also supporting third sector partners to place up to 30 more young people in areas such as early learning and community care.

To qualify for the scheme the young person must be aged between 16-24 and be claiming Universal Credit.

The Kickstart Scheme is a £2 billion fund, announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in July 2020, with the aim of creating hundreds of thousands of high quality 6-month work placements for young people who have lost jobs and opportunities because of coronavirus.

The young people are offered a placement of 36 hours a week for six months. They will be paid £10.04 an hour more than the National Minimum Wage of £8.91 per hour for people aged 23 and above.

Placements do not require extensive training beforehand and young people will also learn vital skills such as writing a CV, how to prepare for an interview and other career advice.