Frequently Asked Questions

It's a 4-week online program (plus a 5th week for career launch activities) where high school students (ages 16-18) work in small global teams on real projects for an actual employer. They develop critical career skills, explore different business areas, and get practical experience to prepare them for university and future jobs.

Grassroots To Work is an organization dedicated to bridging the gap between education and employment. We focus on providing young people with high-quality career guidance and impactful work experiences that build real-world skills and confidence. Our founder, Sibusiso Nhlapo, is passionate about youth empowerment and future-readiness.

Great question! Several things make our program stand out:

• Real Employer, Real Projects: You won't just do simulations. You'll work on live project briefs from a partner employer each week and present your work directly to them for feedback.
• Our Unique Learning Philosophy (Our Cool Way of Teaching!): This helps you learn skills that actually stick and that you can use in different jobs later on. We do this by:
  • Learning by Doing (Kolb's Cycle): You actually DO stuff, think about it, learn from it, and then try new things.
  • Giving You Support (Scaffolding): We help you step-by-step so you're not just thrown in the deep end.
  • Revisiting Ideas (Spiral Curriculum): We'll touch on important stuff more than once, in different ways, so it really sinks in.
  • Teaching "Real-World Smarts" (Hidden Curriculum): We also help you pick up on all those unwritten rules of how to act and communicate professionally.
• Skills Builder Framework Alignment: Our program focuses on essential employability skills recognized by this framework.
• Global Collaboration: You'll work in diverse teams with peers from around the world.
• Comprehensive Support: This includes live coaching, mentorship, and a dedicated Career Launchpad week to help you articulate your experiences.

No, it's a global program! We welcome students aged 16-18 from South Africa, the UK, the US, the UAE, and anywhere else in the world. The online format and global teams are key features that enrich the experience.

We keep our cohorts small, limited to 16 students. This ensures everyone gets personalized attention, can contribute meaningfully in team collaborations, and has quality interaction with the employer and our coaches.

You'll develop a wide range of skills crucial for future success, including:

• Problem-Solving & Critical Thinking: By analyzing real business challenges.
• Teamwork & Collaboration: Through working effectively in diverse global teams.
• Communication & Presentation Skills: By presenting your ideas to an employer.
• Creativity & Innovation: In developing solutions for weekly projects.
• Digital Literacy & AI Awareness: By using online tools and exploring AI in business.
• Time Management & Project Management: From meeting weekly project deadlines.
• Professionalism & Workplace Behaviours: Learning how to interact in a professional setting, receive feedback, and take initiative (part of our 'Hidden Curriculum').

Each of the first four weeks focuses on a different core business area, giving you broad exposure:

• Week 1: Business Strategy & Insights
• Week 2: People & Culture
• Week 3: Marketing & Communication
• Week 4: AI Integration for Business

This week is crucial! It’s all about helping you make sense of your 4-week experience and turn it into powerful stories and examples. We teach you how to identify and articulate the skills you've built, the challenges you've overcome, and the insights you've gained. This is key for:

• Crafting an impressive CV/Resume that showcases real achievements.
• Optimizing your LinkedIn profile with concrete examples.
• Mastering interview techniques by using your experiences to answer questions effectively.
• Developing a personal Career Action Plan.

This process forms the heart of your 'Experience Playbook', ensuring you can confidently communicate your value.

Absolutely! This program is specifically designed for high school students like you who are looking to gain their first significant, structured work experience. No prior experience is needed at all. We provide all the guidance and support you'll need to succeed.

Scaffolding just means we give you support step-by-step. So, when you're working on those real company projects, you're not just left to figure it all out alone. We give you clear instructions, break down big tasks, help you brainstorm, and you've always got your coach and your team to back you up. It's all about helping you build skills and confidence without feeling overwhelmed.

We partner with a diverse range of innovative small to medium-sized businesses, social enterprises, and startups for each cohort. The specific employer is selected closer to the start date to ensure projects are timely and relevant. While students don't choose the specific employer, our focus is on ensuring every partner provides meaningful, real-world challenges that align with our weekly themes. The core value lies in the hands-on project experience and the transferable skills you develop, which are applicable across many industries.

You'll have direct, live interaction with the partner employer twice a week:

• Mondays: A 1-hour Project Briefing where the employer introduces the week's challenge and answers your questions.
• Fridays: A 1-hour session where your team presents your project solutions to the employer and receives direct, professional feedback.

This provides valuable, real-world engagement and a chance to learn from industry professionals.

You'll finish with a strong foundation for your next steps, including:

• A Certificate of Completion.
• A Personalised Skills Report detailing your development.
• A portfolio of completed projects to showcase your work.
• An improved CV and LinkedIn profile, enriched with compelling stories from your experience.
• Practical interview skills and the confidence to use your experiences to answer questions.
• Your unique 'Experience Playbook' and a Career Action Plan.
• One top-performing student per cohort also receives a Direct Employer Reference.

It helps significantly! Universities are looking for more than just grades. This program demonstrates your initiative, proactivity, and ability to apply yourself in a real-world context. You'll have tangible project experiences, developed skills (like problem-solving, teamwork, and communication) backed by stories and examples, and an understanding of global collaboration. All of this can be discussed compellingly in your personal statements, essays, and interviews. The skills report and potential employer reference are also valuable additions.

We understand you have many commitments! This program is designed to be highly engaging and directly relevant to your future. It's not like typical school assignments. Think of it as a chance to "test drive" future careers by doing real work for an actual company. You'll build skills that genuinely help you stand out for university or jobs, learn how to talk about your achievements in a way that impresses people, meet interesting students from around the world, and get a clearer idea of what you might (or might not!) want to do. Plus, having actual project examples and stories for your CV is a game-changer that many students don't get until much later.

The program requires approximately 10-16 hours per week. This includes about 5 hours of live, scheduled sessions (like employer briefings and presentations) and the rest is flexible, asynchronous time for you to work on your projects individually and collaborate with your team.

You'll need a reliable internet connection, a computer (laptop or desktop) with a webcam and microphone, and access to standard free tools like Google Workspace (Docs, Slides, Sheets). Live sessions are conducted via Zoom. No specialized or paid software is required from you.

The Special Early Bird fee is R1500 for South African students (approximately £65 / $85 USD / 300 AED for international students). This offer ends June 15th, 2025. A standard program fee will apply after this date.

The fee covers the comprehensive design and delivery of a high-quality, facilitated learning experience. This includes live coaching and mentorship from experienced facilitators, the structured curriculum and learning materials, coordination with our partner employers for meaningful engagement, the technology platform and support, the development of personalised skills reports and certificates, and the dedicated Career Launchpad week (Week 5). It's an investment in a structured, supported, and outcome-driven program that provides far more than just unsupervised tasks often found in traditional, unpaid work experience.

Yes, we offer the Early Bird discount for registrations by June 15th, 2025. We are also committed to accessibility and have a limited number of partial bursaries available for students who demonstrate financial need. Please inquire for more details when you apply or by contacting us.

Student safety is our top priority. All live sessions are facilitated by our trained coaches. Employer interactions are structured and supervised by our team. We have clear codes of conduct for all participants, and breakout rooms and team collaborations are monitored. We use secure online platforms for all program communication and delivery.

We provide multiple layers of support. Each cohort has dedicated coaches who lead sessions, provide guidance, and are available for support. Students also benefit from peer support within their teams. Our structured sessions and scaffolded approach include regular check-ins, and there are opportunities to ask questions and seek help as needed.