The Kickstart Scheme

Bethany - helping herself and the council

Bethany McKay’s Kickstart placement has benefitted not just her but Midlothian Council.

A social media expert

Bethany, 24, pictured above, has been gaining valuable experience within the communications team working on her own social media research project.

Guiding the team

Thanks to her findings, the communications team has decided to set up an Instagram account later this year using Bethany’s good practice guide.

New opportunities

Bethany meanwhile has learned new research skills and is now also working two days a week in a Kickstart administration role supporting another team. 

Learning new skills

She said: “I’m doing things like learning how to process invoices and issue ID cards so I’m really liking it.”

Government funded 

Kickstart is a government funded scheme to help young people get into work and gain training at the same time.

More than 2,000 followers

Bethany says the communications’ placement appealed to her because, like the majority of young people, she uses social media a lot. She has more than 2,000 followers on Instagram and is a regular on Tik Tok, Snapchat and Facebook.

Job Centre help

She said: “I found out about the Kickstart placement through the Job Centre as they knew I was looking for admin type jobs. 

An interesting opportunity

“I thought the social media project sounded interesting and felt like something I could do.”

Working under her own steam

While the communications team gave her a brief and a list of other local authority accounts they wanted her to investigate, Bethany had to organise her own schedule, write reports and come up with her own findings. 

Learn on the job

She said: “I think the Kickstart placement is good because you don’t have to have a lot of experience at the start but you learn a lot and that then makes it easier to get a longer term job.”

A confidence boost

She said the placement has also given her renewed confidence as well as getting her into a new working routine, introducing her to other young ‘Kickstarters’ and improving her life skills such as creating her CV. 

Family support

She says: “Even my mum has noticed I’m more confident.”

Applying for jobs

Bethany, who finishes her six month placement in May, is now looking for a full-time administrative role. 

More employable

She says she would recommend a Kickstart placement. “Thanks to Kickstart I feel in a much better position to get a job.”