eBay is teaming up with the Federation of Small Businesses and Adecco Working Ventures to help support up to 1,000 eligible small businesses in providing new work placements for young people through the Government’s £2bn Kickstart Scheme.
The Kickstart Scheme was launched by HM Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions earlier this year to support eligible businesses to offer six-month work placement opportunities to 16-24 year olds who are in receipt of Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment.
Under the scheme, the UK Government cover 100% of the cost of a six-month work placement, including the age-relevant National Minimum Wage, National Insurance and pension contributions for 25 hours a week – up to £6,500 per person and at a total cost of £2bn. FSB and Adecco will allow eligible small businesses to pool vacancies and access support under the Scheme, offering young people invaluable work experience which will have a longer-term benefit for them as they move into employment.
As part of the new initiative, eBay will offer up to 1,000 eligible small businesses who have an eBay account, and successfully participate in the Kickstart scheme via the FSB portal, £500 in eBay seller fee credits. eBay will also offer training to successful participants to improve their e-commerce and digital skills.
The 300,000 UK small businesses and sole traders selling on eBay will be invited to check their eligibility and register on the FSB portal, and up to 1,000 eligible businesses which work with Adecco and are successful in offering and completing a work placement will be offered the seller credits that can be redeemed to reduce their selling fees on eBay. Adecco will also provide support throughout the placement, including a dedicated Kickstart Placement Manager and access to an online portal of resources.
Commenting on the initiative, Senior Vice President and Head of eBay Europe Rob Hattrell said:
“We have been proud to support the UK’s small businesses through these challenging times – from offering a free online shop window to those businesses who have yet to develop an online presence, to a period of waived fees for new small businesses starting to sell online on eBay.
“This new initiative recognises that the UK’s small businesses account for 60% of private sector employment in the UK, and have a vital role to play in our economic recovery supporting jobs, growth, and exports. This is a potential win-win – offering young people new opportunities to gain new skills in online retail and e-commerce, whilst supporting the growth and success of the UK’s small businesses and eBay are proud to support this.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said: “We introduced the Kickstart scheme to harness the talent of Britain’s young people, because we know that our country’s future will be in their hands.
“Thanks to the partnership created between eBay, FSB and Adecco, small businesses will be at the heart of this collective effort, helping to kickstart our economy and the careers of thousands of young people.”
Minister for Employment Mims Davies MP said: “It is great to see an innovative company like eBay team up with FSB and Adecco to drive uptake in our Kickstart Scheme, support SMEs and help nurture and support our next generation of workers.
“Our Plan for Jobs helps employers across the country give young jobseekers the opportunity to get on the jobs ladder and these new roles show the variety of what’s on offer through the Kickstart Scheme.”
Mike Cherry OBE, National Chairman, Federation of Small Businesses said: “The UK’s small businesses are the biggest private employer in the country, and are proven to offer more career and employment opportunities to those furthest from work, such as the long-term unemployed and young people who are not in education, employment or training.
We are glad the Government listened to our request to include sole traders in the Kickstart scheme. Today’s partnership with eBay will help provide support to countless more small businesses and sole traders be part of the solution, at a critical time. eBay’s support to their sellers offers the potential to grow the number of work placements in an incredibly fast-growing sector of the economy.”
Mike Dixon, Co-owner, of Wolverhampton-based business, HugglePets, said:
“Here at HugglePets, we are passionate about supporting our local community and have always looked towards local young talent for our team when positions have become available. It’s great to see eBay backing the Government’s Kickstart scheme, which we hope to use to create new positions that can lead to long term roles within our business.”
