Ladder for Shropshire helping provide the next steps for Kickstart employees
The Ladder for Shropshire is supporting employers to find the next steps for their Kickstart employees – either by supporting the conversion of the Kickstart place to an apprenticeship or by advising on the apprenticeships on offer elsewhere.
Klaidas Psenaska moved to England from Lithuania with his parents when he was four years old. At 16, he chose to go to college and successfully completed a two-year bricklaying course, but with no site experience, he struggled to find work.
When the Kickstart scheme was introduced, many opportunities came into the Job Centre, and Klaidas’s work coach encouraged him to start applying. An interview with Oswestry-based document management business EvaStore provided him with a great opportunity, and was also less than a mile from his house.
Klaidas was soon given a good insight into all aspects of the business, before settling into the role he currently has of storing documents for safe electronic storage.
Gary Tait, general manager, said he is delighted with how well Klaidas has settled in.
“Initially we wanted to give something back to an unemployed local young person by offering them useful skills that would help them in their future world of work. It was never my intention to take anyone on a permanent basis, but Klaidas has more than proved his worth and we are now keeping him on and further develop him with an apprenticeship,” he added.
Amanda Carpenter, for the Ladder for Shropshire, said: “Our aim is for none of the Kickstart employees to return to unemployment. If employers can offer a conversion to apprenticeship then £3,000 plus grants are available.
"If they are unable to offer an apprenticeship, then most weeks there are more than 200 apprenticeships on offer locally, which can be found at www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk.
"If an employer wants to discuss the options available I would encourage you to contact me at amanda@ladderforshropshire.org."
