As most people will be aware, publishing is a very competitive industry and getting your first break can be difficult. Kickstart placements allow companies to perhaps be more open minded when selecting candidates for the roles created, as it gives both the company and the candidate the opportunity to see if the position suits them before committing to a permanent role. It may also give the Kickstarter the opportunity to learn more about the various roles within publishing and keep open-minded about where they see themselves most suited. In other words, it gives both parties the opportunity to potentially widen their criteria, when both looking for and creating opportunities.
Do I Qualify for Kickstart Placements?
If you are aged between 16 and 24 and currently claiming Universal Credit, then you should qualify. You will need to be registered with a work coach who will be able to advise you of opportunities that they think might suit you. You will then apply, either directly to the company or through an approved Government Gateway (ie Atwood Tate). The more information you can give your work coach about the type of roles you would be particularly interested in, the better.
What Will I Get Out of these Placements?
Not only will these opportunities give you some much valued work experience, you will also be paid at least the National Minimum Wage for your age group and will work for at least 25 hours per week on a 6 month contract.
Alongside the particular work placement skills learnt, you will also have the opportunity to build on general ‘soft’ skills to put you in the best possible position to find a permanent role within the industry at the end of your placement. Throughout the placement, you should receive advice/help with recognising and building on key workplace skills such as communication, teamwork, problem solving, organisation, planning and self-motivation etc and hopefully learn more about what direction you want to go in with your future career. There is obviously the real opportunity of being kept on with the company after your placement, if you do well and the company is in a position to hire at that point. At the very least, you will be in a much better position to start applying for permanent opportunities elsewhere.
Towards the end of the placement, you will be able to get advice on what type of roles to apply for, how to make the most of your work experience and showcase this experience through your CV and social media profiles.
How are Atwood Tate Involved?
Atwood Tate are an approved Government Gateway for Media and Publishing roles. We have helped many of our clients to secure funding to create Kickstart Placements and we expect many of these jobs to become available over the coming months. We will be advertising some of these roles, hopefully as soon as next month, so it is worth registering your CV (and putting ‘Kickstart’ as your job choice) and ensuring that you follow us on our social media channels, such as LinkedIn.
