Since its September launch, fewer than 2,000 young people have so far started new roles under the government's £2bn Kickstart jobs scheme. The Department for Work and Pensions said that applications for 120,000 placements have now been approved, and it is easing rules so that the scheme is open to direct applications from small employers, replacing a previous restriction under which any business creating fewer than 30 placements had to apply through an intermediary, or “gateway”. Meanwhile, industry groups have called for the Kickstart programme to be extended into 2022 in order to curb a rise in long-term unemployment for young people. It is set to close to new applications at the end of the year.
Read more: BBC News
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