Burhill Golf & Leisure Group (BGL), The Club Company and Crown Golf, owner/operators of over 30 UK golf clubs, have all benefited from the Kickstart Scheme during 2021, introduced to the industry by Promote Golf and The LSS Group.
The Department of Work & Pensions initiative offered 6-month fully funded work placements for people aged 16 to 24 years old and on Universal Credit. Employees also benefited from access to Promote Golf’s online learning courses to aid their development, as well as comprehensive training from the employer Golf Club.
Tim Good, the General Manager of BGL’s Thornbury Golf Centre near Bristol, said, “BGL are delighted to have been able to take part in this initiative and provide new employment opportunities for young people. The initiative has been exceptionally rewarding, both for us and our new team members, who have demonstrated fantastic commitment to learning and a growing passion for their roles.”
Matthew Rollinson, Chief Operating Officer at Crown Golf, commented, “Crown Golf are proud to support the Governments Kickstart Scheme, playing our part in building confidence and skillsets in real work situations for young people in our local communities, giving them opportunities for developing longer term careers.”
The “big 3” have been joined by over 220 other clubs to attract more than 400 new young individuals to the golf industry, representing over £2.8m of salary funding. Kickstarters have also undertaken over 1,000 online courses, a statistic that Matthew Orwin, Head of Training at Promote Golf, is justly proud of. “It’s clear that the vast majority of Kickstart employees have really engaged with our training offering. The statistics from within our Learning Management System verify this. They’ve had access to, and participated in, a range of courses from working in a golf club bar through to a wide variety of greenkeeping courses. It’s truly been great to see”.
While the scheme is now closed to new clubs, those that have approved grants but as-yet unfilled are ideally placed to reap the benefits well into 2022, with the deadline for new starters not until 31st March 2022. Further information on the scheme and other Clubs that have successfully taken on new Kickstart employees can be found here https://promotegolf.co.uk/kickstart/
