Catalyst Program

About the enke: Catalyst Program

The Catalyst Program addresses the issue of young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs).

The program is a 25-week (6 month) experience in personal development, social impact and guided coaching for professional development to increase the likelihood of conversion to employment, enterprise, education or training. Catalyst is designed to support youth to self-determine, define, achieve their goals and successfully enter into employment, education, enterprise or training.

How to Become an enke: Catalyst

To participate youth must:

• Be between 18-34 years old
• Have a Matric certificate
• Unemployed / Out of School for 5-24 months
• Reside in Gauteng or Northern Cape
• Commit to expectations & program activities

Expectations of participants

• Commit to attend all program activities, and complete the associated tasks.
• Attend all training sessions which take place on weekdays & weekends
• Note that the program is run in English, thus comfort with working in English is expected.
• Be open to a different way of approaching your future success

How Catalyst Works

Our objectives of the enke: Catalyst Program are to:

1. Contribute to reducing the youth NEET rate to <30% by 2030.
2. Break the continuum of hopelessness of out-of-school, post-school youth by rebuilding their self-belief and resilience through training, practical experience and inspiration.
3. Inspire and support a bias toward entrepreneurship and innovation by helping young people develop the skills, networks and desire to identify and access opportunity.
4. Provide an intervention that is accessible for post-school non-Matriculants to improve their futures.

The Program is made up of 3 core modules and has been delivered as a mix of residential and non-residential training:

• REBOOT / Personal Development Skills: Participants are taken through rigorous personal development training focused on rebuilding self-belief, self-confidence and essential social skills to succeed in a professional setting.
• NAVIGATE / Life Outcome & Pathway Training: Over 6 months, participants engage with information, resources, field trips and other experiences to guide them through navigating the obstacles they will face around access to education, employment and training.
• GENERATE / Entrepreneurial Development: Participants learn and apply Human-Centred Design methodology and SETA-Accredited New Venture Creation while building essential entrepreneurial skills.

What’s included

• 6 months intensive skill building experience
• Lunch, tea/coffee and snack at every workshop day
• Take home & online resources
• Dedicated support person who is with you every step of the way

Benefit to Society

74% of the 141 participants of the enke: Catalyst Program between 2016-2018 are economically active (no longer NEET).

82% of Catalyst participants report an increase in optimism, confidence, resilience and self-belief.

The Benefits of the Catalyst Program

• Intensive skills development and leadership training that can enhance educational and employment opportunities
• Practical experience designing and running a project / business
• Learn how to take an idea and make it a reality
• Learn how to drive your own success from the inside out
• Action-driven learning