We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve welcomed two new members to the team here at Matchstick Creative. Taking our team of five to now a team of seven are our two new members, Faye and Carla, who have joined us through the government’s Kickstart Scheme. Faye is our new Content & Social Media Executive and Carla is our new Graphic Designer. We wanted to take the time to share our experience with hiring through the Kickstart Scheme and explain why we think it’s such a great scheme for giving young people the opportunity to find work.
What is the Kickstart Scheme?
Set up by the UK government back in September 2020, the Kickstart Scheme aims to create thousands of 6-month job placements across the UK for 16 to 24-year-olds who are currently on Universal Credit. The scheme gives young people who are looking for work the opportunity to enter the workforce and gain valuable, paid experience across a variety of different sectors.
How we hired through the Kickstart Scheme
After having taken on a series of new clients throughout lockdown, including the amazing Everyman & Playhouse and iWoman, we felt as though we needed a few extra team members here at Matchstick Creative. In our three years as a company we’ve quickly grown from starting as a solo venture to a team of five, and now with our two Kickstart Scheme hires, to a team of seven.
We believe in helping organisations that want to create a positive impact make a difference. This is why, when it came to us going about hiring through the Kickstart Scheme, we sought the help of local social enterprise Transform Lives Company.
We’ve been very fortunate that we’ve grown from just myself three years ago to now having a team of seven people. We’ve grown quickly because we’ve managed to find a really good niche that we operate in.
Ruth Hartnoll, Founder & Content Director at Matchstick Creative.
Transform Lives Company works as a gateway to Kickstart within Liverpool and the North West, and have provided over 8,000 jobs as part of the Kickstart Scheme to local young people. Their passion for creating a difference and helping young people is something that we relate to at Matchstick Creative, as we know the struggles that young people are currently facing when it comes to finding opportunities for work. To have the opportunity to work with them was something that we really appreciated being able to do.
Our New Team Members
As a result of working with Transform Lives Company we were able to take on two new staff members through the Kickstart Scheme, and grow our company’s team by 40%. In turn, this has meant that we’ve been able to expand and work with even more incredible profit-for-purpose companies which is what we love to do! If you’re looking to take on junior staff then the Kickstart Scheme is a brilliant route to take. Not only will you be able to grow your business but you’ll be helping talented young people enter the workforce. Welcome to the team Faye and Carla!
Want to hear more about our experience hiring through the Kickstart Scheme?
Make sure to check out the BBC Radio Merseyside interview with Matchstick Creative’s founder Ruth Hartnoll and Transform Lives Company’s Managing Director Tracy Fishwick.
