Has the Kickstart scheme fulfilled its purpose?

Whilst initial interest was perhaps better than current take-up rates, which seem to be petering out as the scheme nears its expiration, there’s no doubt that a lot of young people, who would otherwise be hopelessly applying for dead-end roles or receiving mass rejections from the sectors they would prefer to work in, have benefitted from some real-life experience within their industry of choice (in most cases).

The government claims that the Kickstart scheme has boosted the careers of more than 100,000 young people. How many of these youngsters will be kept on in their respective companies once their six months is up remains to be seen. Though this figure sounds impressive, some experts have disputed the scheme’s effectiveness; in December 2021, The Independentran an article within which was the claim that Kickstart has ‘delivered fewer than half the 250,000 promised’.

I was on a job-related forum the other day and Kickstart was mentioned. The number of replies from older workers was significant. Whilst the scheme was said to be a successful initiative, there was universal regret that there was no such scheme for the over fifties—the second-most affected age group in unemployment circles.

With your whole career in front of you, and whilst, most likely, you’re living at home with your parents, a few months out of the workforce won’t have as much impact on your career as it might for an older employee—for whom age discrimination definitely does exist, and who is likely to have dependents to support and bills to pay. A similar scheme to help this group back into employment would be welcomed with open arms. As one over-50 said, it feels as if they’re already on the scrapheap, despite their years of experience and with a good couple of decades left in their career.

A lack of opportunities and the hopelessness that can stem from this, it seems, are not exclusive to the younger generation.