The support I have received has given me the confidence to apply for my dream job.

Our main Kickstart programme came to an end on Friday 4th March.  During the past couple of years, finding employment has been more difficult than ever, especially for young people who have had their career journeys halted by the pandemic.  This government-funded scheme supported six-month paid placements for 16–24 year olds, allowing them to gain valuable work experience.  In addition to the work experience, the young people also took part in employability sessions working towards a certificate for skills in further learning and employment.

We created four roles – finance assistant, social media assistant, childcare assistant and environmental assistant. Five young people completed their placements at the beginning of March, with our final Kickstart placement running from 1st March – 31st August.

Achievements:

• The environmental assistants led litter picks and community clean-ups and completed a piece of research into the Report It function on the Salford city council website, feeding back the results to the council.
• Our finance assistant learnt about Quickbooks, how to do payroll and created a new invoicing system for our childcare provision.  He secured a permanent finance role within a large construction company.
• Our social media assistant helped to manage our social media accounts and created publicity and marketing materials for colleagues.
• Our childcare assistants learnt about child development and help organise activities for children and families.
• One kickstarter secured a media role with a local Salford company.

Danielle Wright, Live Well coordinator and Kickstart mentor said, “Its been a real privilege to work with this group of young people.  They have all worked really hard and its been very rewarding to see them develop skills and knowledge and grow in confidence.  We wish them all the very best for the future.“