The boss of an IT firm in the county is urging more firms to capitalise on government employment schemes after seeing one young recruit become a success story.

Don Iro, chief executive of Rochester-based Allteks, says the Kickstart scheme, which allowed employers to get funding for six months towards an employee aged 16-24 who was previously claiming Universal Credit, has been a huge boost to his business.

He took on Ope Dosumu last September as an account manager under the scheme and the young recruit has since gone on to enhance several aspects of the firm.

Explains Don: "Although Ope joined with a specific role, he has showed a huge passion for learning and we have been able to coach him in several areas of the business, up-skilling him for a future career path. He has shown improved confidence and technical skills. Although the Kickstart scheme is now ended, we are looking at possible opportunities within other schemes and considering taking Ope on in a full-time role.

‘The recruitment market is tough for a lot of companies at the moment and hiring can be difficult, but there are lots of people out there willing and eager to learn and up-skill. Taking someone on under an employment scheme isn’t always an employer’s first port of call, but it can be hugely beneficial to both the company and the individual.’

Ope added: ‘Since joining, I learnt a lot about the technical side of things and how to work with customers from a business-to-consumer level but here at Allteks I’ve been able see how things play out in business-to-business interactions.

‘I’ve also been able to build on my interpersonal skills as I learnt to generate business and manage relationships. I’ve enjoyed the challenge of having to think of my feet while I adapted to the new status quo."