The careers of nineteen young people across Dorset and Wiltshire have been given a boost by children’s hospice charity Julia’s House, thanks to the Government’s Kickstart employment scheme.
Kickstart is open to people aged 16-24 and claiming Universal Credit, and was designed to help those who are at risk of long-term unemployment. Julia’s House took on the nineteen government-funded trainees for a period of six months across its chain of high street shops, providing them with on-the-job training, practical experience and confidence within the retail sector.
Since the end of the scheme in October, three of the charity’s Kickstarters now have university placements and eight have been able to secure further employment with the likes of Boots, British Heart Foundation, EE and Currys.
Julia’s House has also been able to offer two participants permanent roles in its own retail team.
Jodie Symes, 24, from Hamworthy, is now employed as a Junior Retail Assistant, supporting the whole of the charity’s retail operation across the two counties.
Jodie was a new mum who had struggled to find flexible work when she joined the Kickstart scheme. She has been in her new role with the charity for almost four months now.
“I absolutely love being a permanent member of the Julia’s House team – I look forward to coming to work every day!” Jodie says. “It’s given me my independence back and I’m learning so much about the charity and its work. It’s a really varied role, I get to work with some lovely people and am gaining experience in providing admin support to the retail team as well as serving customers in the shop.”
Since finishing her placement, twenty-year-old Jade Sanger from Salisbury has been employed as a Customer Assistant at the Julia’s House shop in her home town. Like Jodie, Jade had found it difficult to find suitable employment, but applied to the Kickstart scheme on the suggestion of her work coach.
Jade says: “I began working at Julia’s House as a Kickstarter in May 2021. During my six month programme I gained many more skills. I can work well in a team, my communication skills have improved when talking to customers and co-workers and I have more experience within retail. Once my six months was up I began looking at other retail jobs to apply for with the valuable experience I had gained. And then a job then became available at Julia’s House. I applied and thankfully they offered me the position! The Kickstart programme was a great experience and I would recommend it to anybody who needs support to find a job.”
Erin Hobbs, Assistant Area Retail Manager for Julia’s House says: “We’re so proud of everything our wonderful Kickstarters have achieved during their time with us, and are delighted that so many have been able to use their new-found experience and skills to follow their dreams.“
Julia’s House currently has ten Kickstart employees across Dorset and Wiltshire working through their six-month programme, and hopes for more success stories before the scheme closes to applicants at the end of March.
Erin continues: “The retail team at Julia’s House has done a fantastic job in providing such excellent-on-the job development and training to give these young people genuine hope and opportunity.”
Julia’s House provides a lifeline of care to the families of seriously ill children across Dorset and Wiltshire.
It relies on public fundraising, retail sales, donations and gifts in Wills for the majority of the money needed to fund its vital service.