A former Aberdeen oil worker has used his hand sanitiser business to get 30 young people into work.
Palm Safe, run by Marko Steiger, hired the new members of staff through the UK Government’s kickstart scheme.
For Mr Steiger it seemed an ideal opportunity to give young people the chance at a fresh career within his firm.
The venture is aimed at helping those aged 16-24 receiving Universal Credit find long-term employment.
The scheme provided Mr Steiger with the funding to cover 100% of employees’ wages up to 25 hours a week for a period of six months.
He said: “It was quite beneficial for our business in the sense that we didn’t need to put our funds towards employing people and it helped young kids get their first job, have a bit of work experience and put something on their cv.
“It was a win-win for our business and in general helping kids out to get their first jobs.”
Providing long-term roles
Out of the 30 kickstart employees he has recruited there are currently 17 still left at the business – with five of those having been kept on permanent roles beyond the six month period.
The roles include packaging and production, sales team and retail sales assistants for his kiosks in Aberdeen’s Union Square and Bon Accord Centre and one in Livingston.
Jordan Patrick is one of Mr Steiger’s employees who were successful in keeping their job beyond the initial six months.
The 25-year-old, who works as a sales assistant in Union Square, said: “I had just finished my education and looking for jobs and I needed one quick.
“When I heard about Kickstart there was quite a lot of jobs available. Palm Safe sounded interesting and with the whole pandemic I was interested in hand sanitiser at the time.
“It sounded like good fun being able to interact with the public.
“Being kept on afterwards has been great as I really enjoy it.
“You can get jobs pretty fast and there’s a lot of job opportunities.”
Positive experience
Mr Steiger, who started Palm Safe after being made redundant in May 2020, said: “Some are great and with others we had a struggle but overall we’ve had a positive experience with most of our employees.
“At that age getting your first job can be difficult. When employers see that someone doesn’t have any job experience they are hesitant to hire them.
“But if they can see that someone has worked it’s great for them to have that opportunity.
“We encourage all of our kickstarters while they are working to continue looking for jobs.
“We help them with other placements, look at their resumes and see that they are employable whether it is with us after the scheme or with other employers.
“We are always encouraging them to follow what their passion is about.”
Loyal customer base
Looking to the future Mr Steiger is confident his business, based in South Esplanade East, can continue to thrive.
He said: “Business is still good. Fortunately we have a quite loyal customer base and our product is better than what’s on the market. We are still doing well.
“People used hand sanitiser before the pandemic and through the pandemic.
“It’s something that people use on a daily basis so our business has done better when everything is open with regards to being in lockdown.”
