THE careers of nineteen young people across Dorset and Wiltshire have been given a boost by children’s hospice charity Julia’s House, thanks to the government’s Kickstart employment scheme.

Kickstart is open to people aged 16 to 24 and claiming Universal Credit, and was designed to help those who are at risk of long-term unemployment.

Julia’s House took on the nineteen government-funded trainees for a period of six months across its chain of high street shops, providing them with on-the-job training, practical experience and confidence within the retail sector.

Since the end of the scheme in October, three of the charity’s Kickstarters now have university placements and eight have been able to secure further employment with the likes of Boots, British Heart Foundation, EE and Currys.

Julia’s House has also been able to offer permanent roles in its own retail team to two participants Jodie Symes and Jade Sanger.

Jodie Symes, 24 from Hamworthy, was employed as a junior retail assistant four months ago by Julia's House, having recently become a new mum and subsequently struggled to find flexible work.

“I absolutely love being a permanent member of the Julia’s House team – I look forward to coming to work every day,” Jodie said.

“It’s given me my independence back and I’m learning so much about the charity and its work.

“It’s a really varied role, I get to work with some lovely people and am gaining experience in providing admin support to the retail team as well as serving customers in the shop.”

Since finishing her placement, twenty-year-old Jade Sanger from Salisbury has been employed as a customer assistant at the Julia’s House shop in her hometown.

Julia’s House currently has ten Kickstart employees across Dorset and Wiltshire working through their six-month programme and hopes for more success stories before the scheme closes to applicants at the end of March.

Erin Hobbs, Assistant Area Retail Manager for Julia’s House says: “We’re so proud of everything our wonderful Kickstarters have achieved during their time with us and are delighted that so many have been able to use their new-found experience and skills to follow their dreams.

“The retail team at Julia’s House has done a fantastic job in providing such excellent-on-the job development and training to give these young people genuine hope and opportunity.”