Salford Job Match is a new initiative developed from the council’s involvement in the recent Kickstart scheme. Kickstart was a government initiative which helped employers to create high-quality paid placements for unemployed 16 to 24 year olds. Nationally, over 162,000 young people were supported throughout the lifetime of the Kickstart scheme.
Kickstart has been extremely successful in Greater Manchester, supporting over 8,800 young people to develop the necessary skills and experience for future careers, including over 1,100 benefitting from the scheme in Salford, second only to Manchester.
Then scheme has proven to be a particularly effective approach in helping employers identify, recruit, and develop young people’s experience and skills for future opportunities, either directly or as a bridge into paid employment and apprenticeships elsewhere.
Over the lifetime of the scheme the council supported 147 young people with Kickstart opportunities, of which 83% of those completing the full six-months or those leaving for other opportunities have secured a job or an apprenticeship. Many of whom are now working for the Council, or with local employers.
Building on this success, Salford Job Match aims to work with local employers and organisations in the city to support unemployed Salford young people aged 16–24 with a paid work placement linked to a sustainable and quality job role.
Employers are invited to identify a suitable job vacancy and agree to recruit to the position by using Salford Job Match. This will involve providing the young person with a paid work placement directly linked to the role.
Through this new initiative the council propose to award grant funding to employers to host a quality paid work placement for up to 4 months.
The financial support available to employers will cover salary costs for a maximum period of four months and for a minimum of 16 hours per week, and up to a maximum of 25 hours per week.
To be awarded funding employers must commit to employ, pay, and support a young person with a work placement for up to four months. The duration and hours are flexible, usually between 16 to 25 hours per week, and all work placements must be paid at least the National Living Wage, currently £9.50 per hour.
In addition, employers must commit to employing young people for a minimum of 6 months on completion of a paid placement, subject to satisfactory performance.
Young people participating will have the opportunity to demonstrate their suitability for the role, with success to be measured against an agreed set of predetermined employer expectations and milestones, to be reviewed at intervals throughout the work placement period.
On the job training and support will be made available to young people to ensure they have every chance of meeting employer expectations.
The ‘new’ role will need to be an equivalent job or an apprenticeship position paid at the same or a higher rate, and for the same number of contracted hours per week, or more (subject to mutual agreement).
Casual/zero hours contracts will not be considered as eligible job opportunities under this initiative.
To be eligible to apply you must:
Please complete the online form below if you are interested in applying for funding to employ and support a young person.
Complete the Salford Job Match form
For further information please contact david.timperley@salford.gov.uk or sebastian.young@salford.gov.uk