Julia's House helping kickstart careers in Wiltshire thanks to job scheme
It closes at the end of March
Nineteen young people across Dorset and Wiltshire have been given a boost by 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.
The children's hospice charity took on the nineteen government-funded trainees for a period of six months across its chain of high street shops.
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.
Meanwhile, two participants were given permanent roles at Julia's House.
Jodie Symes, 24, from Hamworthy, is now employed as a Junior Retail Assistant, while 20 year old Jade Sanger from Salisbury has been employed as a Customer Assistant at the Julia’s House shop in the city.
Jodie was a new mum who had struggled to find flexible work when she joined the Kickstart scheme:
“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.”
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.