Hartlepool jobs boost as businesses sign up to £2bn kick start fund

A total of 39 jobs will be created at five businesses across the town after a call from Tees Valley metro mayor Ben Houchen to take advantage of the £2 billion Kickstart scheme.

The fund is aimed at creating high-quality six-month work placements to young jobseekers aged between 16 and 24 who are on Universal Credit and are deemed to be at risk of long-term unemployment.

Companies that wish to employ 30 or more young people through the scheme can apply directly to the Government which pays their wages for six months.

Firms looking to take on fewer must group together or have another organisation apply on their behalf.

To allow small and medium sized companies in the Tees Valley to access the fund support, Mayor Houchen has pledged to lodge an application on their behalf.

The Tees Valley is also one of the first places across the UK to submit an application for 85 new jobs at 23 companies.

Mayor Houchen said: “When this Government scheme was launched, I said it was a fantastic opportunity for businesses in Hartlepool and across our region to step-up and help create jobs and opportunities for young people as we bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic.

“It is therefore great to see that once again here in the Tees Valley we are taking the lead for the rest of the country to follow.

"We’ve got companies signed up and we have sent our application to Government so we can get on with creating these jobs for young people.

“Being able to provide our young people with a kick start on the career ladder is crucial, especially as their employment opportunities have been some of the worst affected because of coronavirus.”

Mayor Ben Houchen hopes the initiative will create 500 jobs across the region.

He said there has been more than 250 expressions of interest in less than two weeks.

The fund is open to any business across all sectors including private, public and voluntary and community sectors.

Organisations can register their interest at https://www.teesvalleybusiness.com/kickstart-tees-valley

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