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Kickstart Scheme: Supporting young people into the workforce

Fausteja is working at Abbotsford as a Marketing Officer as part of the Kickstart Scheme. In this blog she shares how this placement has helped her gain crucial marketing skills, practical experience and support for her chosen career path.

Having struggled to find a job during the covid-19 pandemic, I was so relieved when I heard about the Kickstart programme. It gave me hope that if I put my mind to it, I could not only get a job to support myself but also get an opportunity to pursue a new career and get valuable experience in the process! Being a creative person, I was always interested in working as a marketing officer but never had the chance as most jobs require experience. The Kickstart programme gives young people like me a chance to reach their goals and provides support into further stable employment. Kickstart honestly changed my life!

This programme is such an important part of helping young people who were affected by the pandemic to get back up on their feet. It not only offers access to jobs that are mostly unavailable to young, inexperienced people, but it also gives them a chance to prove themselves to be capable which in return boosts their confidence.

In my opinion, this programme should always be in place to some degree to support young people and ease them into the world of work. It is an investment. That way, more young people would reach their potential and become key pillars of society in the future.

During my placement with Abbotsford, as a marketing officer, I got the opportunity to work on many amazing projects with incredibly skilled people. I enjoyed being an integral part of the biggest event at Abbotsford to date, ScottFest 2021 where I managed all advertisements for the event as well as other marketing jobs. There was never a dull moment! I enjoyed helping with events, writing press releases, managing social media, writing e-newsletters, and collaborating with other businesses to boost marketing for Abbotsford. Throughout the year I have learned so much and gained invaluable experience that will help me for the rest of my life. During my placement I got to use all of my skills; some that I never even realised I had! It felt good to be useful and depended on.

I hope that other young people who are struggling and are in the same situation I was, get the chance to take part in the Kickstart scheme or other similar programmes. It can really change one’s life around and make a huge positive impact on the individual.