The UK Kickstart employees are getting a big kick out of Voi

When someone joins Voi, we take time to welcome and share some of the Voi joy to make them feel part of the family. No exceptions are made, as we believe that everyone is part of making our Voiage continue.

Kickstart employees at Voi

When we decided to chat with some of the dozens of new Kickstart employees at Voi, a scheme created by the UK government in September 2020 to support young people at risk from long term unemployment, we were bowled over by their enthusiasm. Kickstart supports young people, 16-24 years old, to enter sectors they might not otherwise be familiar with, and micromobility is most definitely making its mark in this regard.

Various aspects of working with Voi stood out for our Kickstart employees, and all have expressed an interest to keep learning more about this growing industry and scooting with Voi. Ethan, from Cambridge, introduces the idea of Voi as a cool company rather perfectly:

“I chose Voi because…they’re new, from Sweden, they look pretty progressive in terms of standards of careers. And I thought, that could be sweet, I’ll go for it.”

Voi embraces local employment

Shahin is one of our City Keepers working in Liverpool. He moved to the UK from Iran three years ago and, along with going to college to learn English, has been working with Voi, which has him brimming with enthusiasm:

“I think that this Kickstart role has supported my chances of future employability. I’m really positive about that. It’s the start of my bright future to be honest because I can see, in this company, I can go forward and it has very good opportunities for me if I work hard. It has been very good motivation for me because everyone in the company is friendly. When I wake up in the morning to go to work, I don’t feel like I’m going to work because everyone is friendly, helpful and so nice and kind.”

Inclusivity and employability at Voi

As part of our roadmap to inclusivity in the micromobility sector, we very much support applications from neurodiverse and disabled people. We are an employer with ethics that welcomes anyone who has a passion for creating better towns and cities for living, and wants to be part of the exciting micromobility movement, as it grows from niche to norm.

Daniel, a City Keeper and Kickstart employee from Northampton, for example, says that he joined Voi after a time struggling with his mental health:

“I’d been suffering with really bad depression and anxiety. And I wanted to put myself out there and get myself out of my comfort zone to battle it. So I thought working for Voi in the outdoors and meeting new people would help. And it has worked a treat. It really has! I’ve also got ADHD so I don’t focus very well but this is the perfect job for me.”

Disarmingly candid about his neurodiverse needs, Daniel goes on to discuss why, in particular, his role as a City Keeper at Voi has been perfect for him:

“Because I’m a very energetic person, where I tend to lose track of focus on what I’m doing. It’s a struggle to work in a normal shop or directly under somebody in, like, a warehouse. Because I struggle with that communication between people. So working with Voi and being given an area to pick scooters up in is really handy because I can focus on that area.”

We are a people first company

We like to think that, because we are a people first company, we have and will continue to support Daniel to challenge himself and grow. One area that he particularly enjoys is learning how to communicate with others:

“I like the communication with people, and working with people in a team. Because I’ve never been a person to work in teams, I’ve been quite a loner. It’s actually really nice to work in a team. I also like helping people learn how to use the scooters. I showed an older man, at least 70 years old, the other day to work a Voi scooter. And I have actually seen him since, riding on the scooters. So it makes me feel like I’ve done something to help somebody. He was a lovely bloke too and he was so polite to me.”

The ‘putting people first’ ethos at Voi has been flagged as first class by our other Kickstart interviewees. Our start-up ethos of protecting and empowering talent at Voi is something that is new to many of them and one that has been a pleasant surprise. So, for example, we simply don’t have trust issues at Voi, we like to embed trust and make people feel safe not only when they ride our scooters but when they come on a journey to work with us. Philip, a 21 year old Kickstart employee in Liverpool sums this up perfectly, saying:

“I love it. As well as being outdoors all the time, to be fair I feel like there is quite a freedom and trust at Voi, between us and the supervisors. I feel like there’s a good relationship with the team, which I’ve probably never had before in any company. It’s very good.”

David, a City Keeper in Bristol is a 23 year old Kickstart employee who joined Voi in November 2021. Working in pubs and restaurants until now, he has valued the Voi vibe since starting and hopes very much to stay on:

“I am looking to carry on with Voi. I also think that their interview process of hiring is really good at Voi, and so their process of keeping in touch with their employees and making sure that they are all right. It’s one of the best I’ve probably seen anywhere.”

It’s all about variety at Voi

Having welcomed new City Keepers in all regions, employees are also particularly enjoying the fact that they are gaining industry knowledge, learning new and transferable skills that can support them progress in their career. Philip was one of the people who highlighted the variety of skills he has learned at Voi:

“I’ve really enjoyed learning how to do the quality checks on the e-scooters… I check the tyres, the grips, the brakes, the handles, the acceleration, the headlights – basically everything.”

Shahin was able to tell from the get go that no day at Voi is the same:

“When I saw the job advertised for Voi, I really liked that, because I’m the kind of person who really likes a varied job…this job suits me because you do different things every day. My supervisors tell me which tasks I should focus on. Sometimes we do the reparking of the scooters, or we go to parking spots to validate accuracy. My favourite task is going to parking spots that appear on the riders’ menus for picking up or ending a ride, to confirm the information provided is correct.”

Photo © Zack Ali

Energy and enthusiasm at Voi

At Voi, we are committed to supporting the local community by creating new job opportunities, particularly for young people. Kickstart allowed us to reach out to young people who may not have otherwise been on our employment radar. Daniel’s Voiage to independence is particularly inspirational:

“I love the independence. It’s one of the key things for me at Voi, really…I also like that my managers seem to encourage a sense of trust.”

It’s never a one way journey at Voi, however, because the Kickstart employees have brought their own positive energy and excitement. They all knew about Voi and many had ridden them before, but were delighted to have a chance to learn more about our vision. They are now learning about our commitment to sustainability, safety, reducing congestion and pollution and they are opening their eyes to the bigger picture. Ethan said that Cambridge was really hard to get around before Voi and he’s delighted to be part of the change towards making it a cleaner, less polluted city:

“The fact that Vois are practically everywhere within a ten to five minutes walking distance, makes it a breeze to get through traffic hell when it’s through during commute times in Cambridge. And I think that’s fantastic in my book.”

If you relate to Ethan, who says that “it’s good when you get companies that pop out like Voi, it’s a breath of fresh air, I suppose. I think they’re doing really, really well for themselves in my book.”

A breath of fresh air

We think that our Kickstart employees are also a breath of fresh air, especially one of our supervisors, Marcela Andrioni who says:

“The biggest surprise for many of our Kickstart employees was the trust that we instil in them. For many, this is their first job. So, I think they were pleased when they discovered that they can have independence but, at the same time be committed. We help them to build their confidence and have great channels of communication. We believe them and we believe in them! And so they are so happy. We trust them, so they trust us back. And as soon as they understand this exchange, they do the job happily.”

Another of our fabulous supervisors, Natasha Rochester, concurs, saying: “I believe our Kickstart employees respond so favourably to Voi because of the level of autonomy they are given, coupled with the love of being outdoors. Not everyone thrives in office-based roles and one trend I have seen with all our Kickstart employees is their love of the outdoors, as well as the enjoyment they get from riding Voi and seeing how their role positively impacts the quality of the service we provide to our riders.”

Find out more about job vacancies at Voi here.