Project Y

🌟𝐂𝐨-𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐲🌟 A few weeks ago, South Africa's leading co-working provider and proud Project Y partner, Workshop17, hosted a fantastic event called 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘍𝘦𝘶𝘥, a fun twist on the popular 𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘍𝘦𝘶𝘥 game. Our Y-Members connected with various other Workshop17 companies for an afternoon filled with laughter, joy, and friendly competition. 🎉 Beyond the fun and games, this event highlighted the immense value of a workspace that is not only productive but also provides access to a network of professionals and job opportunities for our members.✨ We are incredibly grateful to our partner, Workshop17, for providing our members with such an inspiring environment where collaboration thrives.🤝 Together with Workshop17, we’re looking to connect with more employer partners who are eager to support our mission to create more equal access to opportunities for South African youth! 💼 🌍𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐬—𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫, 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐫, 𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐫!🌍

🌟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐘-𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐛𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐚! 🌟 We are thrilled to announce that two of our inaugural members of Project Y have secured full-time positions at The Delta, one of the leading global Venture Builders! 🎉 Lindokuhle Skosana and Mthokozisi Dhlamini's success story is a testament to what happens when talent, hard work, and ambition meet Project Y’s unique membership benefits. Only three months ago, Lindo and Mthokozisi joined Project Y with very limited hope for their future. Project Y changed that by restoring their hope and confidence and providing access to top-tier education, financial support, and coaching. Project Y also opened the door to its Employer Partner, The Delta who have hired both Lindokuhle and Mthokozisi as Junior Software Engineers. Callum Parton, Head of The Delta Codelight Team, explains: “We were blown away by the quality and dedication from the Y-members. Our Tech Lead and I visited the members at the Project Y hubs in both Cape Town and Johannesburg and organised a technical challenge. We quickly realised that Project Y is not only a great social initiative but that a lot of the members were in fact ready for hiring. Once we realised this, it was just about hiring them in time before they were snapped up elsewhere!” 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨@𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐲.𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 - 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧!

💧 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚’𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 💧 In Johannesburg, South Africa, a lot of our members are currently affected by a severe water crisis that has hardly been touched by the international press. 🌍 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠? Currently, residents are experiencing days on end without water. Imagine starting your day without a basic necessity like water. No showers to refresh yourself, no water to cook or clean, and limited access to even go to the bathroom. This is the harsh reality many are facing including our members. 🌍 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬? The crisis stems from inadequate maintenance, a lack of planning for population growth, mismanagement, corruption, and political infighting. 🌍 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐘 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬: 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐲𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐞: Without water for showers, many arrive at work feeling less than their best, which can affect confidence and performance. 𝐍𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡: Limited access to clean water makes it difficult to prepare meals, impacting nutrition and overall health. 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Inadequate water for cleaning and hygiene poses significant health risks, especially in a work environment. 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧: The constant worry about water availability adds stress, making it harder to focus and be productive at work. Despite these hurdles, the members at Project Y in Johannesburg show remarkable strength and dedication. They continue to show up, give their best, and contribute to their workplaces, demonstrating resilience and determination. 𝐀𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐠. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨: 💧Raise awareness about the water crisis and its impacts. 💧Support initiatives aimed at providing reliable water sources. 💧Show empathy and understanding towards affected colleagues. 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬.

🚀 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭? How can tech companies attract and retain cost-efficient talent? While most tech companies offer traditional internships, it's time to explore the power of multi-year apprenticeships—a model proven effective in other industries. Here’s why: 💡 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬: Long-term benefits like reduced recruitment expenses, lower salaries, and faster employee productivity make apprenticeships a smart investment. 🔧 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Apprenticeships allow companies to tailor education to their specific needs, ensuring a highly skilled workforce. 🏅 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: With a clear pathway to full-time employment, apprenticeships lead to higher retention rates and lower turnover costs. 🌟 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: Establishing a steady pipeline of well-trained talent is crucial in an industry with a significant skills gap. 🏆  𝐄𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Being known as a company that invests in employee development can attract top talent and enhance your brand image. At Project Y, we enable employers to hire our members for a 24-month apprenticeship—fully remote. Project Y can act as the Employer of Record, managing payroll, providing workspace and devices, a powerful community, onboarding support, and upskilling. What do you think about apprenticeships? Should more companies introduce them? Let us know in the comments! #TechTalent #Apprenticeships #FutureOfWork #EmployeeDevelopment #TalentPipeline #DiversityAndInclusion #Innovation

Our members were thrilled to have Dallas Goldswain from ProQuo AI join us last week for an inspiring career advice session. Dallas prioritises entry-level talent with the right mindset and skills over seniority. Beyond mastering the latest coding languages, Dallas emphasised the importance of: Sharpening Problem-Solving Skills: IT is all about tackling challenges! Dallas emphasises that theoretical knowledge and experience is not everything. The ability to translate that knowledge into actionable solutions is what truly sets individuals apart from simply having a qualification and experience. Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: We all have moments of self-doubt, but Dallas provided actionable advice such as finding a great mentor and continuous learning to overcome these hurdles. Developing Strong Communication Skills: Whether it's explaining complex concepts to clients or collaborating with colleagues, clear and concise communication is key. Practice makes perfect. Dallas' well-rounded perspective provided a motivating roadmap for our Y-members to build successful and rewarding careers in the ever-evolving IT field. A huge thank you to Dallas Goldswain for sharing his expertise and answering all our questions! Are you a tech leader passionate about shaping the future workforce? Project Y is seeking collaboration with industry experts to lead career advice sessions for our aspiring tech professionals. In return your company will have access to a pipeline of talented and determined future employees. Ready to make a difference? Send us an email to [email protected] Learn more about Project Y: https://lnkd.in/dwVf9FdD

Launching a start-up straight out of university is no easy feat, and achieving international success is even more challenging. 💡 Last week, we had the pleasure of welcoming our ambassador, Alexandria Procter, to our Johannesburg hub. Alex developed an MVP for her start-up, DigsConnect.com, while studying at UCT. Today, it stands as the leading student housing marketplace in Africa. Our members had one pressing question: When is the best time to start a tech company? Is it better to gain a few years of job experience before launching a start-up? At Project Y, we believe that especially in Africa, access to pre-seed funding is very limited, even more so for entrepreneurs without a track record or from disadvantaged communities. Investors typically require a working MVP and initial revenues. In such challenging market conditions, gaining a few years of experience in a tech company might be advisable. This approach helps build a network and learn from experienced founders. However, aspiring developers should use their free time to build products to increase their employability. Some of these products might even generate unexpected demand. As Alex aptly put it 👉 "If you are curious and work hard, opportunities will come to you."

Unlocking Talent: Discover 5 Reasons Why Hiring from Project Y is a Game-Changer 🚀 Looking to elevate your hiring strategy? Look no further than Project Y! From unparalleled quality and retention rates to social impact and continuous enablement, we're committed to delivering top-notch candidates ready to make a difference. All our Y-members have undergone rigorous quality checks, ensuring they possess both soft and hard skills, outstanding work ethics, and access to an optimal workspace at our Project Y hub among other benefits. 💼🌟 Explore the infographic below and take the first step toward elevating your team's success!

We are proud to announce our partnership with the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA)🌟🚀 The NYDA is a South African-based agency established primarily to address challenges faced by the nation’s youth. The NYDA is a pivotal organization dedicated to empowering and uplifting young individuals across South Africa, ensuring they have access to opportunities for growth and development. Last Tuesday, Project Y had the honor of hosting a special visit from the NYDA at our Johannesburg hub. As Waseem Carrim, the CEO, expressed during his address to our Y-Members: "We are excited about this partnership as it is a different way of doing things." It was an insightful and inspiring day for all involved as we shared our vision and mission with the NYDA team. Together, we are exploring ways to empower young South Africans from disadvantaged backgrounds, providing them with equal access to global opportunities and rewrite the narrative. As we continue on this journey of empowerment and innovation, we are grateful for the support and this new partnership. 🎊

"𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞." Thanks to Dr. Alistair Mokoena (CMSA, Bcom, LLB, MBA, MDP, EDP, PhD), Country Manager at Google South Africa for your inspirational words today at Innovation City Cape Town and for your hands-on commitment to a more equitable world. The world is dangerously off track on reaching the UN's sustainable development goals due to a lack of investment in developing economies despite the technological advancements. It needs more leaders to work on those challenges as together we can overcome them, not only in the interest of others, but also to give us energy for our lives.

🚀 Last week, we proudly welcomed our first Y-members to our hubs in Johannesburg and Cape Town! What an inspiring day for everyone! 🎉 Together, we're embarking on a journey to create the first digital nation, providing more equal access to global opportunities for young South Africans from disadvantaged backgrounds. 💼✨ We are striving to build a business model in which our members can not only become shareholders, but also finance the system by contributing a share of their future income to the community. 🌍💡 Out of 21,000 South African applicants, we carefully selected our 35 founding members, all aspiring software developers who now have access to a lifetime passport of the Y-Nation! 🌟 Special thanks to Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, The Delta and National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), as well as our education partner Re:Coded for your amazing support.