JobStart Scheme - employer guidance

JobStart eligibility section

Have you already submitted an application for the current phase of the JobStart scheme (opened September 2025)? Please note: only one application is required per employer for this phase?

Yes/No

Please note we will only be accepting one application per employer at this time

Are you an employer in Northern Ireland?

Please note if you are not an employer in Northern Ireland you cannot apply for funding from the JobStart Scheme.

Which best describes your business?

Please choose the sector which best describes your business - Private, Public or Third Sector

• Private sector (owned and controlled by private individuals with the aim of making a profit)
• Public sector (owned and controlled by the government with the aim of providing a service to the public)
• Third sector (e.g. charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises)

How many JobStart Scheme job opportunities can you offer?

Please apply for the total number of opportunities that your business can accommodate as we can only accept one application per employer. Approved participant start dates can be staggered if you are unable to accommodate all participants at once.

Your application will be assessed against the JobStart Scheme criteria and you will be advised of the total number of opportunities for which you have been approved.

Do your job opportunities meet the JobStart Scheme criteria?

Yes/No

The JobStart Scheme job opportunities must:

• be for 6 months for 25 hours per week (Strand 1) or
• be for 9 months at 15 hours per week (Strand 2), with flexible options available
  • Option A – 15 hours per week for 9 months
  • Option B – 12 hours per week for 6 months, progressing to 21 hours per week for the final 3 months
  • Option C – 12 hours per week for the first 3 months, progressing to 15 hours per week for the following 3 months, and 18 hours per week for the final 3 months
• pay at least the National Minimum Wage through PAYE
• pay National Insurance and Pension Contributions as required
• provide support for participant whilst they are employed as part of the JobStart Scheme

Please note individuals will be assessed by a work coach who will determine the most suitable strand for them. Employers should be able to accommodate the Strand deemed appropriate for their participant.

Are your job opportunities just for the JobStart Scheme?

Yes/No

Your JobStart Scheme job opportunity:

• must not be for a vacancy that already exists or is planned
• must not cause existing employees, apprentices or contractors to lose work or reduce their working hours
• is being created specifically for this Scheme
• must be a quality job opportunity as approved by the Department
• will be funded for 25 hours per week at National Minimum Wage rate (employers can choose to pay a higher wage and offer additional hours - this additional cost must be met by the employer)

Please confirm you will provide a high level of support to develop both occupational and employability skills to meet JobStart Scheme requirements?

Yes/No

By creating a JobStart Scheme job opportunity you are helping working age benefit claimants who are unemployed or economically inactive move into or closer to sustained employment.

Participants on the Scheme will need your support to develop their occupational and employability skills. Employers are expected to provide both occupational and employability skills training for all participants. Employers will complete a robust Training Plan that will be approved, monitored, and reviewed by the Department. Throughout the opportunity, the Department will carry out periodic monitoring reviews to ensure the participant is receiving a quality opportunity and actions set out in the Training Plan have been implemented. At the end of the opportunity, if employers are unable to offer permanent employment, they will be required to offer a mock interview to prepare participants for the labour market.

It is a condition of the funding that employers are available and fully compliant with Departmental monitoring and review requirements and will provide feedback for ongoing Scheme evaluation.

Occupational skills

Occupational skills relate specifically to the job role being offered and the job description provided for the post. For example:

• in an office-based role - learning to use job specific IT programmes, e.g., Microsoft Office Suite, specific payroll software, etc.
• in a retail role – learning how to operate a till, handling cash, restocking inventory, etc.
• in a kitchen-based role – basic food hygiene certification, knife handling and cutting techniques, etc.

This list is not exhaustive and is only provided as an example. Employers should tailor the skills to match the job role offered.

Employability skills

These are transferable workplace skills, relevant to any job role such as:

• time management
• working effectively as part of a team
• communication

This list is not exhaustive and is only provided as an example. Employers should tailor the skills to match the needs of the participant.

Please note that the Department does not have contracts with any individual training providers. You are free to choose any organisation to provide this employability support on your behalf.

You will be asked to outline these skills and tell us about how you will provide this support at questions 20 and 21.

Mock interview

All employers will be required to offer their participants a mock interview at the end of the scheme, if they are unable to offer permanent employment.

Employer details section

Name of Company/Charity/Employer

Please enter the exact name of your business.

If you are a limited company this needs to be the exact name registered with Companies House. Otherwise insert the full name of your business.

Registered Company/Organisation address

Please provide your full business address including postcode.

Companies House Registration Number or Charity Commission Number where applicable

Your Company Registration Number (CRN) is a unique 6 digit number, or

Your charity number - a unique 6 digit number given to you by the Charity Commission for NI when you register.

If you do not have a Company Registration Number, are a Public Sector organisation or an exempt charity you should enter ‘0’.

Please note if you cannot provide a registration number, we may request evidence that your organisation is financially viable from a registered accountant.

Your name

Insert the name of the person completing the application.

Primary contact details

Insert the name of the person who will deal with queries all queries from the Department in relation to the JobStart Scheme.

You will need to confirm this contact point is on the company payroll and what position they hold within the company.

It is recommended that an alternative point of contact be identified at this time to handle enquiries in the absence of the Primary Contact

Telephone number

Please provide a full telephone/mobile number for any identified points of contact.

Email address

Please provide a valid email address for all identified points of contact.

Please ensure email addresses are typed correctly – we will send documents to you using these email addresses

How many permanent employees are in your company/organisation at date of application?

Please provide both the total number of employees in your organisation as well as the number based in Northern Ireland.

We need to know this to help us decide whether you are likely to be able to support the number of JobStart opportunities you wish to provide.

Include:

• all workers paid directly from this business's payroll(s)
• those temporarily absent but still being paid, for example on parental leave

Exclude:

• working owners who are not paid via PAYE
• voluntary workers
• former employees only receiving a pension
• self-employed workers
• agency workers paid directly from the agency payroll
• subcontractors

Which of the following best describes your business area?

Please choose the area most appropriate to your business.

Does your business operate within the “Green” Industry?

Yes/No

The "Green" Industry includes businesses and organisations that contribute to protecting the environment, conserving natural resources, or reducing carbon emissions. This can include work in areas such as:

• renewable energy (e.g. wind, solar, hydro)
• energy efficiency and insulation
• recycling and waste management
• sustainable agriculture or forestry
• environmental consultancy or conservation
• low-emission transport and logistics
• eco-friendly manufacturing or construction

Job opportunity details

What information do you have to show your job opportunities are specifically for the JobStart Scheme?

Provide information to show that the job opportunities from your organisation are being created specifically for the JobStart Scheme.

Your JobStart Scheme job opportunity:

• is being created specifically for this Scheme
• must be a quality job opportunity as approved by the Department
• will be funded for up to 25 hours per week at National Minimum Wage rate on Strand 1 or the alternative hours assigned on Strand 2 at National Minimum Wage rate (employers can choose to pay a higher wage and offer additional hours on agreement with the participant and their Work Coach - this additional cost must be met by the employer)

Your JobStart Scheme job opportunity must not:

• be for a vacancy that already exists or is planned
• cause existing employees, apprentices or contractors to lose work or reduce their working hours
• be used to fulfil Buy Social clause requirements in government procurement contracts

We need to know about changes to your workforce over the last 6 months. Tell us:

What changes have there been to your workforce in the last 6 months and why? How many people have been affected by these changes?

For example what redundancies have there been? What roles were made redundant? Have there been any changes to contracted hours or roles of existing staff?

Which roles were made redundant or had their hours reduced in the last 6 months?

Please provide details of any roles affected by changes to the workforce.

What recruitment have you completed, started or paused in the last 6 months?

This question is to ensure that the opportunities you are offering are being created as additional roles and will not displace other employees. Give information about any recruitment you have carried out, started, or put on hold, and how the roles compared to the opportunities being offered through JobStart.

If the job opportunities will be similar to existing or planned roles, or the roles previously done by those made redundant or with fewer working hours, why are you using JobStart Scheme funding to create similar roles?

Please give details of any similar roles and an explanation for each role you intend to use JobStart funding for.

Have you engaged with any relevant trade unions about participation in the JobStart scheme?

Please tell us if a collective agreement is in place and any advice the unions have given.

Are you receiving any funding from Labour Marker Partnerships?

Yes/No

If yes, please tell us what this funding was for.

What roles are you planning to create for the JobStart Scheme?

Please provide a description for all job roles you are planning to create.

Please include:

• job title(s)
• a short summary of each role
• description(s) of the duties involved for each role

Providing occupational skills

Please list a minimum of 5 occupational skills the participant will develop during the job opportunity you are providing.

If you are offering different roles, please list a minimum of 5 occupational skills specific to each role being offered.

Throughout the participation period the Department will carry out periodic monitoring reviews to ensure the participant is receiving a quality opportunity and actions set out in the Training Plan have been implemented. It is a condition of the funding that employers are available and fully compliant with Departmental monitoring requirements.

Occupational skills relate specifically to the job role being offered and the job description provided for the post.

Examples are:

• in an office-based role - learning to use job specific IT programmes, e.g., Microsoft Office Suite, specific payroll software, etc.
• in a retail role - learning how to operate a till, handling cash, restocking inventory, etc.
• in a kitchen-based role - basic food hygiene certification, knife handling and cutting techniques, etc.

This list is not exhaustive and is only provided as an example. Employers should tailor the skills to match the job role offered.

If you are offering different roles, please list a minimum of five occupational skills specific to each role being offered.

Do you have more than 5 different roles and require a follow up e-mail to supplyoccupational skills for these roles?

If you have more than 5 different types of roles and require a follow up e-mail to supply occupational skills, please select yes.

Support to develop employability skills

Can you confirm you will offer support to develop employability skills? (For example, work search support, transferable skills development, mentoring, careers advice and other related support).

It is expected that support will be given to help the participant develop employability skills and build experience.

You are asked to confirm that this support will be provided.

A tailored Training Plan will be developed for each participant by the employer where details on the employability support will be gathered. At this point you may wish to consider:

• what employability skills you intend to develop during the participant’s job opportunity. These are transferable workplace skills, relevant to any job role
• whether support will be supplied internally or externally. For example, you may already have a pre-existing relationship with training providers. Please note it is not mandatory but may be beneficial to the participant to use an external training provider
• how you intend to monitor the progress of the participant in developing their employability skills and what steps may be possible to adapt this support to the participant’s needs over time

Additional information

Within which council area will your JobStart Scheme job opportunities be based?

More than one council area can be selected - please select all that apply.

How did you hear about the JobStart Scheme?

Please select the option that best applies.

Did you apply for any of the previous JobStart Schemes?

Please select all that apply.

• the first JobStart Scheme 16-24 ran from April 2021 to March 2023
• the second JobStart Scheme 16-24 ran from June 2023 to March 2025
• JobStart Scheme 50+ ran from May 2024 to March 2025.

How satisfied are you with the JobStart application process?

Please select the option which best represents how you feel.

We value your feedback and welcome your suggestions on what we could do to improve the process.

Submitting your application

Please insert your name and check the boxes below to confirm that your application meets the criteria detailed.

By adding your signature and checking the boxes, you are confirming that you have read and understood the terms and conditions of the JobStart Scheme and that you will provide any further information to process your application in a timely manner.

Almost done...

Please press 'Continue' and ‘Submit Response’ on the next page in order for your application to be received by the JobStart Team.

If you submit your email address, you will receive a PDF version of your application.

We recommend that you request a copy of your application. If we request clarification or further information, it may prove useful to see what information has been supplied previously.

JobStart employer promotion guide

As an employer, you can help us build a better understanding of the value of JobStart, and the opportunities you can provide as a JobStart Employer.

• JobStart employer promotional guidance