Experience project · Remote
Social content plan
Northstar Coaching
Coming soon · Register your interest
Kickstart
your career.
You’ve got ideas and skills. Now find a chance to use them. Meet businesses, take on a focused project and build experience you can talk about in your next interview.
Build proof of work for your CV and portfolioFind flexible projects around your studiesGet feedback and build professional connections
Opportunity board
Illustrative examplesExperience project · Hybrid
Event promotion plan
Independent local business
Defined scope, learning goals and feedback.
For students, postgraduates & recent graduates
Kickstart your career.
Gain experience. Build your CV. Stand out.
Whether you’re interested in marketing, design, software, finance or something else, Kicksa aims to help you find smaller businesses offering relevant projects, guidance and a chance to put your skills into practice.
Gain experience beyond the classroom
Work on a real business brief, discuss your ideas with the person running the business and learn how to turn what you know into a useful piece of work.
Build a CV and portfolio with evidence
Develop practical skills and examples you can discuss in interviews. Agree what you can share, then show your contribution through a design, report, content plan or other project outcome.
Explore where your career could go
Try different industries, discover what you enjoy and make professional connections. A successful project could lead to a reference, further experience or a future paid role.
Different ways to get involved
What could your experience look like?
These are the formats we’re planning for Kicksa. They can overlap: a micro-internship might centre on a project, for example. Availability will depend on launch arrangements and the businesses taking part.
Work experience
Get a feel for a role or industry.
Spend time with a business, learn how it works and take part in agreed activities with guidance and feedback.
Example: a placement with a small marketing team, learning how a campaign is planned.
You gain: insight into a role, practical learning and feedback.
Work shadowing
Watch, ask questions and learn.
Follow someone through their working day to understand their role. Genuine shadowing is observation only, without doing work for the business.
Example: observe a designer’s planning session and discuss how they approach a client brief.
You gain: a clearer picture of the job and whether it suits you.
Micro-internships
A short placement with a clear focus.
Join a business for a short, agreed period, with a defined brief, a supervisor and feedback. The length and hours would be stated in the listing.
Example: a two-week placement helping research a new audience and present the findings.
You gain: hands-on experience and an example to discuss in interviews.
Projects
Work towards a specific outcome.
Take on one agreed brief with a clear output, deadline and point of contact. A project is organised around what you deliver, rather than a placement in a role.
Example: a content calendar, website review, design concept or customer research report.
You gain: practical skills and potential portfolio work, with permission to share it.
Before anything starts
The business sets out the format, activities or output, hours, location, supervision, feedback and pay or expenses. The candidate reviews the details, asks questions and agrees the arrangement before starting.
The format does not decide whether it can be unpaid. Work experience, micro-internships and projects must meet applicable pay rules. Observation-only shadowing may be unpaid; required placements of less than a year on a UK further or higher education course can qualify for a minimum-wage exemption. Read the pay guidance ↗
From first profile to finished project
How Kicksa will work.
Kicksa is currently taking registrations of interest. This is the planned journey once the platform opens. Core candidate signup and profiles will be free.
Your journey as a candidate
Create your free profile
Add your skills, interests, course or career stage and availability. Include coursework, personal projects or a portfolio if you have one, so businesses can understand what you could bring.
Find your kind of project
Explore opportunities that fit your interests and schedule. Read the brief, expected outcome, time commitment, pay arrangements and support on offer. Apply with a short explanation of why you’re interested and what you’d like to learn.
Speak with the business and agree the details
If there’s a match, discuss the project directly. Confirm the scope, pay or applicable placement arrangements, availability, supervision and feedback before you begin.
Complete the project and build your portfolio
Share progress, ask questions and use feedback to improve your work. At the end, review what you’ve learned, ask about a reference and agree which work you can include in your CV or portfolio.
What could a project look like?
Specific work. A useful outcome.
Illustrative briefs, not live opportunities. Each would need clear supervision, learning goals and appropriate pay arrangements before being advertised.
An independent coach · Marketing
A four-week content plan
The brief: Explore the coach’s audience and suggest a month of social content.
The outcome: A content calendar and three sample posts.
The experience: Audience research, copywriting and feedback on creative ideas.
A local retailer · Data & research
A customer insights report
The brief: Review an anonymised customer survey to understand common themes.
The outcome: A short report with charts and practical recommendations.
The experience: Data analysis, presenting findings and understanding a business decision.
A self-employed consultant · Web & design
A clearer website journey
The brief: Review how visitors find services and make an enquiry.
The outcome: An annotated website review and a proposed page layout.
The experience: User research, design thinking and explaining recommendations.
Small businesses. A wide range of skills.
Find your area—from finance and events to fitness, design and technology. Students, postgraduates and graduates from different disciplines are welcome.
Marketing & social mediaWriting, editing & copywritingGraphic design & brandingPhotography, video & audioWeb design & developmentSoftware, apps & automationData analysis & reportingMarket research & insightsAdmin & business operationsFinance & bookkeepingSales & business developmentCustomer experienceHR & recruitmentEvents & community projectsE-commerce & retailSport, fitness & wellbeingEducation & learning resourcesSustainability & environmental projectsArchitecture, interiors & propertyEngineering & product designLanguages & translationOther / still exploring
Register interest before launch
Build experience that counts.
Tell us your area of interest and leave your email. We’ll contact you when candidate access opens, so you can create your free profile and start exploring projects.
We’re taking interest ahead of launch. Projects and matching aren’t live yet, and signing up doesn’t guarantee a placement or applicants.
- Build proof of work for your CV and portfolio
- Find flexible projects around your studies
- Get feedback and build professional connections
Join as a candidate
Clear from the start
A few things worth knowing.
Each opportunity should explain its scope, learning goals, time commitment, supervision, feedback and pay arrangements. Calling something “work experience” or a “portfolio project” does not make it exempt from pay requirements.
Where someone is legally a worker, minimum-wage rules apply unless a specific exemption applies. Genuine observation-only shadowing and qualifying course placements are different arrangements. Terms and conditions do not override employment rights. Read the GOV.UK guidance ↗
Free core access: candidate signup and profiles are planned to remain free. Any optional premium features would be introduced separately later. References, paid work and future jobs are possible outcomes, not promises.