Every year, South African companies invest billions in learnerships to meet B-BBEE scorecard requirements and address skills gaps. Yet, despite the spend, youth unemployment remains devastatingly high, employer pipelines are underdeveloped, and most graduates from these programmes are left no closer to real jobs.
If we’re honest, much of the current learnership system is failing the very people it’s meant to uplift, and failing the companies who want to see a return on their transformation spend.
At Shaper, we’ve seen both sides: the corporate leaders frustrated with “tick-box training,” and the hopeful young people who graduate with certificates but little practical ability or job opportunity. So we decided to do things differently.
Here’s what we’ve learned, and how we’re helping change the system from within.
1. They’re built for compliance, not capability.
Too many learnerships are designed around scorecards, not skills. Companies feel the pressure to “spend or lose points,” so they commission providers who deliver the minimum: a SETA-accredited programme with little workplace alignment. But qualifications alone don’t build pipelines. Skills do. Experience does. Capability does.
2. They’re disconnected from the workplace.
Training is often delivered in isolation, far from where the work actually happens. Learners are shuffled through theoretical modules without ever entering the environment they’re meant to perform in. There’s no bridge between what they learn and what the job requires.
3. They don’t prepare learners for absorption.
“Absorption” is a critical metric, but many learnerships end without a job offer or clear next step. Learners leave with a certificate and a stipend history, but no track record of real contribution. That’s not transformation. That’s rotation.
4. Employers are often hands-off.
In the traditional model, companies fund learnerships but are barely involved in the journey. HR signs off, the provider trains, and the business never truly engages. When there’s no mentorship, no project work, and no performance visibility, the chance of real success plummets.
How We’re Fixing It at Shaper
At Shaper, we reimagine every learnership as a strategic talent-development pipeline, not a compliance project.
Here’s how:
1. Designing for outcomes, not checkboxes
We start by asking: What will success look like for this learner, and this business, 12 months from now? Then we build backwards—designing tailored programmes that blend formal accreditation with real-world, in-demand capabilities. We call this our 20/80 Model:
- 20% accredited theory (e.g. QCTO-aligned qualifications)
- 80% practical skills, project work, workplace immersion, and behavioural readiness
2. Embedding learners into the business
Our learners don’t sit in a classroom the whole year. They join your teams, contribute to real deliverables, and are coached to work the way your business works, whether that’s data-driven analytics, client-facing roles, tech projects, or operational support. Where in-person experience isn’t possible, we simulate it with realistic virtual environments, project-based assessments, and mentor feedback loops.
3. Prioritising absorption from day one
We don’t wait until Month 11 to talk about job placement. Our goal is always meaningful employment, either within your business or the broader market. That’s why we engage with hiring managers, track learner performance throughout, and design with job roles in mind. If a sponsor can’t absorb a learner, we help them access new opportunities across our growing network of impact-driven employers.
4. Delivering measurable ROI, for learners and employers
From pipeline diversity to digital readiness, our programmes are aligned to business value. We build dashboards that track outcomes: not just attendance, but contribution. Not just certificates, but capability. Not just spend, but impact.
The Results So Far?
- 80%+ placement rate in selected employer-led programmes
- Repeat partnerships with corporates, some of our clients have trusted us for over a decade!
- High retention and performance from absorbed learners in roles like Junior Data Analysts, Business Administrators, and Front-End Developers
- Raving alumni who credit the real-world exposure and mentorship as game-changers for their confidence and career
Where We’re Headed
We believe the future of work in South Africa can’t be built on compliance alone. It must be built on capability, connection, and credibility. If we want to change the trajectory of youth unemployment, we need to stop handing out certificates and start building careers. That means companies, providers, and learners all stepping into a more honest, integrated, and outcome-driven approach. We’re proud to be doing just that, with our partners, for our learners, and for the future of work in South Africa.
Final Thought
If you’re a company spending millions on learnerships and not seeing long-term results, it’s not because B-BBEE doesn’t work. It’s because the model you’re using is broken.
Let’s fix it, together.
Let’s shape what matters.
#FutureOfWork #YouthEmployment #BBBEE #Learnerships #ShaperImpact #SkillsDevelopment #CorporateTransformation #RealWorkReady
