In light of the highly publicised Grey Resignation, I shared my thoughts with Conservative Home on how we could woo over 50s back into the workplace.
You can read my piece in Conservative Home, with a short extract below....
Much has been said about the Kickstart scheme. It was slow to find its feet but, by its end, many were calling for an extension. And that’s no surprise. The Kickstart scheme in less than two years provided over 130,000 jobs for young people, with everyone from the EFL and TechNation, to Bloomberg and the British Chamber of Commerce getting in on the action. Most significantly, it enabled smaller companies and sole traders – through the use of local councils, banks and small business gateways – to build their teams, whilst providing invaluable experience to out of work young people on Universal Credit.
As a Kickstart employer myself, I can vouch for the benefits of the scheme for both employers and employees. It sparked entrepreneurial spirit and up or re-skilled job seekers; provided employers with staff – which they are currently in desperate need of – was subsidised by the Department for Work and Pensions, so allowing companies to grow and fill employment gaps whilst being cost neutral for the taxpayer, and was most likely to result in people coming off Universal Credit within six months.
You are unlikely to be surprised by the wealth of talent going to waste on Universal Credit, from UCL graduates to social media whizz kids desperate to get into the jobs market and highly capable of transforming and reinvigorating SMEs.
Small business owners lauded Kickstart as “the stepping stone” they needed to grow their businesses and a “low risk” way to hire. Having travelled up and down the country in the last six months speaking to local businesses, I’ve found that the recurring concern they have is staff. Quite simply, its.....
Read the full article here: https://conservativehome.com/2022/12/15/jamila-robertson-why-we-need-kickstart-for-the-over-50s/
Comments