Creative agency kickstarts the year with eight new recruits

By Barrie Hudson - 6 January 2021

Business

Branding, design and content studio Danny&co. is boosting its team and nurturing young talent with help from the Government’s Kickstart Scheme.

  • Founder Danny Matthews is delighted to be able to grow his team

    Founder Danny Matthews is delighted to be able to grow his team

Danny Matthews, founder of the firm, which is based near Swindon, had been looking to build his creative team when his plans were put on hold because of covid.

Now the new Kickstart Scheme, which provides funding for employers to create job placements for 16 to 24-year-olds on Universal Credit, means Danny can create positions within the business – and he is planning to take on eight youngsters.

“I am really grateful because I was among a number of businesses to apply to the scheme and within our application only about a third were approved, and of those eight of them were mine,” he said.

Danny is now looking for young, talented people to fill roles including social media manager, content writer, project coordinator and video editor. 

The new posts will be partially Government-funded for six months and candidates will be sourced via Jobcentre Plus. Danny was helped with his Kickstart application by HR consultant Karen Ferris, who is based near Marlborough. 

“The purpose of the Kickstart Scheme is to get people at risk of long-term unemployment into work and to get some experience,” said Danny. 

“I hope some or all will be able to remain with me beyond the six months and at the very least have some experience to take on to their next job. 

"I had planned to create these roles in the business anyway, but covid put this on hold, so it is great to be back on track for growing Danny&co.”

The new team will focus on freeing up Danny from the day-to-day business activity – such as social media content creation and posting - to concentrate on delivering his Brand Confidence programme. 

This new programme, launched towards the end of last year, helps business owners do a deep dive into their brand. Danny hopes his team will be in place by February. 

Accessing the Kickstart Scheme is the latest in a series of initiatives by Danny&co. to bring new talent into the design sector. Danny has mentored a university design student and also takes part in a regular podcast aimed at an audience of young creatives.

More information about Danny&co. and the Brand Confidence programme can be found at https://dannyand.co/

 

 

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