Traineeships and the Kickstart Scheme
Traineeships
A traineeship is an education and training programme with work experience that can prepare young people for work or an apprenticeship. They are designed to help young people who are motivated to find an apprenticeship or job, but don’t yet have the appropriate skills or experience that employers are seeking.
The core target group for traineeships are young people who:
- are not currently in employment and have little work experience, but who are focused on work, or the prospect of it
- are aged between 16 to 24 and qualified below level 3 (N.B. this level is equivalent to A-level)
- providers and employers believe have a reasonable chance of being ready for employment or an apprenticeship within six months of engaging in a traineeship
What do they involve?
Traineeships include three core elements:
- a focused period of work preparation training covering areas like job search, CV writing, interview preparation and interpersonal skills
- English and maths (if needed), as these are seen as crucial employability skills
- a high-quality work placement to give the young person meaningful work experience and develop workplace skills
How long do they last?
Traineeships can last between six weeks and six months.
Do traineeships get paid?
Employers are not required to pay trainees for taking part in a traineeship, but may support them with expenses such as transport and meals. Where young people qualify, they will be able to access existing programmes of financial support.
Further information on Traineeships
Kickstart Scheme
Kickstart is a government programme that was introduced in 2020 to create 250,000 jobs for 16 to 24 year olds who are on Universal credit. It was brought in due to the pandemic. The aim of this government scheme is to pay employers to train young people who are at risk of long-term unemployment.
The scheme is currently due to run until December 2021, with the possibility of an extension.
What does the scheme involve?
The Kickstart scheme means your young person:
- will be in a paid 6-month job for at least 25 hours a week at the national minimum wage, or national living wage depending how old you are
- will receive additional employability support to boost their employment prospects in the future
- may be able to move from a Kickstart job into an apprenticeship within the same company.
There are roles in a wide range of industry sectors across England, Scotland and Wales.
Further information on Kickstart
© Lisa Stone, August 2021
