Since 2008, Umuzi has been at the forefront of youth enablement. We started with the simple belief that talent is everywhere, even when opportunity is not.

Over the years, we’ve:

• Created 6,000+ funded opportunities for young people.
• Reached 40,000+ applicants per year.
• Supported 3,000+ alumni, with more than 80% now thriving in high-value jobs.
• Partnered with organisations like SAP, UNICEF, Accenture, and others to design pathways from learning to earning.
• Built a global footprint spanning 16 countries.

Our mission has always been to reduce social inequality by connecting skilled, high-potential youth to real opportunities.

We have now entered into an exciting new project in partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative.  Aligned with the 2030 Youth Vision, we are reshaping the way young people and employers engage with each other and rewriting the rules of income generation.

Why the Experience Lab?

Youth unemployment in South Africa is at crisis levels, which we believe is unacceptable. Millions of skilled young people are shut out of the economy, not because they lack talent, but because they lack experience.

This is the Experience Paradox:

• No job without experience.
• No experience without a job.

The Experience Lab is Umuzi’s game-changing response. It’s not another training course. It’s a career accelerator that gives youth real-world experience, builds social capital, and connects them directly to earning opportunities.

What is the Experience Lab?

The Experience Lab is a four-block journey that accelerates skilled youth Explorers into the economy. Explorers move through a blend of micro-learning, project-based and real-world gigs, mentorship, and freelance opportunities.  Our aim is for Explorers to exit the Lab as soon as they secure sustainable work that aligns with their career goals.

The Experience Lab Four-Block Learning & Earning Journey

Block 1: Setting Up for Success

• Goal: Onboarding, induction, and community building.
• Modules: Design Your Life, AI Accelerator, Wealthy Me (financial literacy), Employability Sprint 1, Design Thinking Sprint.

Block 2: Impact Gigs

• Goal: Reflection and advanced skills application.
• Modules: Customer Centricity, Sustainable Freelancing, Entrepreneurial Mindset, and Employability, Sprint 2.

• Goal: Onboarding, induction, and community building.
• Modules: Design Your Life, AI Accelerator, Wealthy Me (financial literacy), Employability Sprint 1, Design Thinking Sprint.

Block 3: Accelerating Success

• Goal: Reflection and advanced skills application.
• Modules: Customer Centricity, Sustainable Freelancing, Entrepreneurial Mindset, and Employability, Sprint 2.

Block 4: Freelance & Work Pathways

• Goal: consistent income-earning opportunities.
• Unpaid practice tasks such as Hackathons, virtual internships, projects, and volunteering.
• Paid freelance gigs, internships, and placements.
• Learn to source, bid for, and deliver work.

Experience Gigs give the opportunity for Explorers to access work experience in a new way.

Explorers gain experience through three types of gigs:

• Technical Gigs – These build and grow your technical skills, allowing you an opportunity for trial and error,  through real world projects and outcomes based work.  The Experience Lab team will align your skills as best as we can with different projects, small tasks, short gigs, and work opportunities.
• Professional Gigs – These build the skills needed to thrive in the world of work such as communication, workplace etiquette, and problem-solving.  Tasks include: presentations, peer-to-peer skills exchange, facilitation, workplace projects, leadership opportunities, and teamwork.
• Social Gigs – These build your ability to work with others in differing social contexts, help you develop social networks, and build confidence and leadership.  Tasks include networking, storytelling, youth clubs, civic projects, and tasks in your community.