Long Eaton business recruits trainee under Kickstart scheme

An award-winning Long Eaton company has recruited a local young person under the Government’s Kickstart scheme.

21 year old James Wingett has joined More than Loft Ladders in Meadow Lane, as a trainee installation assistant after being out of work for five months.

The Kickstart scheme provides funding to create new jobs for 16–24-year-olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long-term unemployment and More than Loft Ladders managing director Liam Hobbs said the initiative was crucial to support both young people and businesses to bounce back after lockdown.

He explained: “Last year, we were fortunate to receive a grant from our Local Authority which, along with the furlough scheme, enabled us to retain our installers when we were unable to work on-site in customers’ homes.

“We are now stronger than ever thanks to the team’s hard work and the growing demand from householders to improve their homes by converting lofts into usable space.

“I was therefore keen to apply to join the Kickstart scheme to put something back into the local community as it enables us to give young people, who have struggled to find a job for whatever a reason, a chance of valuable work experience and training.

“We will hopefully be taking James on full time after the six month programme but, if not, he will have learnt a wealth of new skills to improve his future job prospects and give him a firm foothold of the jobs ladder.”

James lost his job as a lifeguard during the first lockdown and did not qualify for furlough.   He found work as a warehouse cleaner but had to resign because of the toll that the long hours and isolation from his friends and family had taken on his mental health.

He said: “I hated not working and applied for loads of jobs. My work coach at the Job Centre suggested that I apply for this and I was over the moon when I was taken on.

“I have always been better at practical tasks rather than being in a classroom work and I particularly enjoy seeing the results of the work we have done to improve a customer’s home and their reaction.

“I am also getting a lot more confidence by getting out and meeting people on the job so I know that this will be a turning point – whatever the future holds.”

More Than Loft Ladders covers the Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield areas as part of a national franchise network.

Named Loft Specialists of the Year in the Corporate Livewire Central England Prestige Awards 2021, the company enables householders to transform lofts into usable space by installing ladders, hatches, part or full loft boarding insultation, lighting and smoke alarms.