Investment managers urged to join government’s Kickstart scheme
Investment managers are being urged to support young people with work placements amid the pandemic.
Investment 20/20, part of the Investment Association, is calling on the industry to provide placements for 16-24 year olds on university credit, as it announces a new initiative in support of the government’s Kickstart scheme.
Last month the government urged companies to offer six-month work placements to young people aged 16-24 who are claiming universal credit benefits.
The government then pays 100 per cent of the national minimum wage, national insurance and pension contributions for 25 hours a week.
At the time Sunak said the scheme is “an opportunity to kickstart the careers of thousands of young people who could otherwise be left behind as a result of the pandemic”.
As part of the new initiative , Investment 20/20 will act as a conduit for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and be an industry representative group as a Kickstart provider.
It removes the requirement for each investment management firm to offer 30 places, and Investment 20/20 can then support the participants through an online platform.
Karis Stander, managing director of Investment 20/20 said: “COVID-19 is threatening to leave the career chances of a generation of young people in tatters. As an industry whose customers are in almost every UK household, it is our responsibility to support the Government’s call and step forward to support young people into work.”
“That is why today we’re calling on every investment management firm to join Investment20/20’s industry solution to the COVID-19 youth employment crisis, as we draw from our award-winning Think Investments programme, and provide a work experience life-line for young people who need it most.”