St Peter & St James Hospice has welcomed the first 5 of the 15 people it is looking for to take up work placement roles as part of the government’s Kickstarter Job Placement Scheme.
The Government’s Kickstart programme provides funding to create new job placements for 16-24 year-olds on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment.
“As a result of the pandemic, we know the challenges young people face to gain meaningful employment at the start of their career paths.”
St Peter & St James Head of Trading Emily Cronin said.
“St Peter & St James are very excited to play our part by backing the Kickstart scheme with exciting job placements within our online team.”
Successful applicants will join the hospice for six months. They will work within retail, communications, data and administration roles to help deliver the quality services St Peter & St James are so very proud of.
Shama, who lives in Hassocks, is one of the young retail Kickstarters already onboard.
“I’m really interested in the experience of working within a charity, so applying for a role at St Peter & St James was an appealing choice for me. I noticed that there were lots of little bits that made up this role I’m now doing, making my decision to apply even easier. I’m interested in learning about all aspects of how a charity works on a day-to-day basis, and working within St Peter & St James has given me that opportunity.”
“I’m so happy with my decision, everyone has been so kind, and even in the short time I’ve been here, I have already been able to learn about areas outside of my role, which has been really exciting.”
Owen, an aspiring filmmaker from Burgess Hill, is another Kickstarter currently working within the retail team.
“I finished my game development course as recent as last year at Northbrook Met College and, due to the unfolding pandemic, found myself quite lost afterwards.”
“I applied for a role at St Peter & St James and fast forward to today when I have been packing parcels within the hospice warehouse ready to be shipped tomorrow. It’s been great being part of this team; I’ve been able to continue my passion for filmmaking by making videos and taking photographs of the staff and volunteers within the shops and the shops and their content themselves. I’ve even been taking photographs of items and listing them on the hospice eBay site to help raise much-needed funds. These are items that people within our local community have so kindly donated.”
Up to ten retail Kickstarters, five of which have already been successful and in placement, will be working in the new warehouse in Hurstpierpoint handling donations and products. They will be working to increase online selling through eBay, Depop and other online marketplaces whilst also helping build the hospice’s online retail presence through social media.
Matthew Hyams, Sales & Service Manager for Greater Brighton Metropolitan College, said,
“As a Kickstart Scheme Gateway Provider, Greater Brighton Metropolitan College (GB MET) was invited by St Peter and St James Hospice to apply on its behalf to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for 15 Kickstart job placement grants; all of which have been successful.
GB MET’s Kickstart team have worked closely with the hospice, guiding them through every step of the process, from the initial application to assisting with job descriptions before submission to the DWP. GB MET is delighted that there has been so much interest in the wide range of jobs offered to young jobseekers by the Hospice, ranging from social media assistants to online retail assistants.”
St Peter & St James are now on the lookout to recruit their Communications, Data and Administration Kickstarters who will be working within the hospice in North Chailey and help deliver the communications and data strategy. Data, social media, website, external and internal communications Kickstarters will be mentored and coached in helping to deliver the hospice’s ambitious plans.
During their time, the Kickstarters will learn about other aspects of St Peter & St James; who will support them to apply for permanent positions, where available, across the hospice or elsewhere once their six-month placement comes to an end.
“Working collaboratively with St Peters and St James Hospice has enabled us to quickly place young people into exciting roles including Online Retail Assistants, opening up career paths and enhancing employability skills.”
Kickstart Employer Advisor Jenny King said.
“As part of the St Peter & St James Hospice team, these young people will contribute towards their wider mission. Regardless of their position, everyone in the organisation plays an important role in supporting our community to enable them to live well towards the end of life.”
“Kickstart is a £2billion fund to create hundreds of thousands of job placements for young people. Employers from all industries and across the private, public and voluntary sectors can get involved.”
Applications for St Peter & St James Kickstart positions have opened at Jobcentre Plus locations across the UK. For more information about the Kickstart Job Placement Scheme, please contact jennifer.king2@dwp.gov.uk.
