How the Kickstart Scheme helped us at the Outdoors Project

As the Outdoors Project approached the end of a long lockdown, the excitement and eagerness to get outdoors was brewing. Outdoors activity restrictions were lifting, and the Easter Holidays were rapidly approaching, which is why the Kickstart scheme allowed us to recruit, train and keep up with the demand for Outdoors fun this year.

The Kickstart scheme allows employers to offer young people claiming universal credit a six-month work placement funded by the government. The Coronavirus crisis has forced employers to cut hundreds and thousands of jobs, and continues to shake the UK economy — however, in more positive news, the government Kickstart scheme has contributed towards creating over 250,000 jobs for young people in the wake of the pandemic. 

We love our new Kickstarters and are so pleased with how well they’ve fit in with the rest of the Outdoors Project family.

 Here’s a few quotes from two of our fabulous Kickstarters, Harry and Louis, and their take on working with us.

Harry:

“The training as well as the ongoing support from leaders and other assistants gave me the confidence to fully immerse myself in the role".

 “I have learnt a lot about myself during my opening weeks working with the children. Their energy is the stand-out thing for me. They have a non-stop appetite for exploring the world combined with lots of running around and making as much noise as possible which is one of life’s joyous things.”

Read Harry’s full story HERE

Louis: “After chatting to Sam and attending a training day I got the job! I absolutely couldn’t wait to get going, and all the people involved were super welcoming and friendly and it just felt like a great atmosphere. It all came around very quickly and suddenly it was my first day. I had an absolute blast!”

Louis: “The kids at the clubs are brilliant and never fail to make me laugh, all my colleagues share the same values and have great attitudes towards their job, which honestly doesn’t ever quite feel like work!”

Read Louis’ full story HERE

Don’t just take our word for it… Here’s a news article of another success story that has benefitted from the Kickstart Scheme. BBC News - 'My new job is a godsend - I was giving up hope'