A Darlington IT consultancy has praised the Government’s Kickstart scheme, after it helped provide employment to two previously unemployed young people.
Resilient Business Systems, based at Business Central, onboarded its first apprentice prior to the pandemic and applied to the Kickstart scheme to give other young people an opportunity to cut their professional teeth in the industry.
The company, which provides strategic IT consultancy to organisations ranging from SMEs to large nationals, saw business skyrocket during the pandemic, as the shift to hybrid working saw it provide support to hundreds of employees adjusting to working from home and across multiple sites.
This led to the company increasing its headcount during the early stages of the pandemic and relocating to a larger office at the town centre business hub, helping increase capacity, and in turn, increase its client base.
Andy Read, founder and managing director, said: “Having taken on our first apprentice, Sam, prior to the pandemic, we were blown away by how quickly he learned the ropes and the impact he had on the business, so we jumped at the chance to join the Kickstart scheme.
“With so many companies working from home during the pandemic, employment opportunities for young people were in incredibly short supply as it was nigh on impossible for companies to provide them with the support and attention they need and we risked losing out on an entire generation of talent.
“Thanks to the Kickstart scheme, we’ve been able to provide employment opportunities to two very talented young guys who have both finished college and have ambitions of working in engineering and IT, helping them develop the skills and experience required to progress their careers, while earning a living at a time when there are so few opportunities.”
Over the next 12 months, Andy aims to continue investing in the business, with the onboarding of two new apprentices’ courtesy of a recently agreed partnership with Darlington Technical College and a potential move to a larger office space at Business Central to accommodate its growing team.
He added: “With Sam ready to complete his apprenticeship and become a full-time employee, we’re keen to continue providing opportunities for local people and will be looking to take on another two apprentices over the next 12 months.
“We’re also keen to continue investing in Darlington, which has proven to be such a fantastic home to us since we started the business, and as a result have been in discussions with the team at Business Central about moving for the third time, to a larger unit in the building.
“As well as our national work, we have also secured a number of clients in and around Darlington over the past 12 months and there seems to be a real buzz around the town at the minute and we’re delighted to be committing our future to the town.”
Vanessa Wood, centre manager at Business Central, said: “It’s been great seeing Resilient Business Systems grow from strength to strength over the past few years and we’re thrilled to see the company continuing to invest in Darlington and create opportunities for local people.
“Business Central was set up to provide flexible office space that granted budding entrepreneurs an opportunity to scale sustainably, from providing shared coworking spaces through to offices that can be scaled up and down as and when a company requires, and Resilient is a perfect example of how this ecosystem inspires and nurtures business growth and we’d like to wish them all the best for the future.”