Progress Housing Group is offering fully paid work placements for six months to give young people a stepping stone into work.
28 young people will be given the opportunity to start a paid work placement from April as part of the Government’s £2bn Kickstart Scheme. In July 2020, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the Kickstart Scheme to fund hundreds of thousands of six-month paid work placements.
The placements are for young people aged 16 to 24 who receive Universal Credit and are at risk of long-term unemployment.
Robert Porter, Service Director of Operations at Progress Housing Group, said: “We are delighted to offer young local people the opportunity to gain new skills and kickstart their careers.
“We have a wide range of placements on offer, so whether someone has a passion for marketing, wants to master a new trade, or has a desire to really make a difference to their community, we can help them to gain confidence, learn new skills, and boost their CV.
“You don’t need to have work experience to apply; all you need is a positive attitude and a willingness to get involved and into work.”
Progress Housing Group is working with other housing organisations nationwide to implement the scheme, in which the Government will pay 100% national minimum wage for the duration of the placement. Progress Housing Group is a committed Living Wage employer and will top up the salaries to a Living Wage level for all their new employees, including young people joining the Group on a Kickstart work placement.
The Kickstart Housing Partnership will create over 800 new job placements in the housing sector, making a real difference to young people nationwide.
Progress Housing Group is based in Lancashire, with its head offices in Leyland. The housing group has supported 100s of young people to gain work experience and into apprenticeships. Some of the opportunities available as part of the Kickstart scheme include working within the Group’s IT, marketing, trades and property maintenance, customer services, administration, housing, and neighbourhood teams.
Those wishing to register their interest in a placement can find out more about the Kickstart scheme by visiting www.progressgroup.org.uk/kickstart-campaign/ or by contacting Progress Housing Group on 03333 204555 and asking to speak to the Progress Futures Team or emailing futures@progressgroup.org.uk.
