Developing 21st-century talents

We want to contribute to reducing the youth unemployment challenge faced across the African continent. Up to 70% of our youth are unemployed, and as an institution, we endeavour to create opportunities for our youth within the digital economy. With the digital shift, we’ve seen many opportunities within the creative media and tech fields. We offer training in creative technology fields, including film, music, animation and video game development, among others. The animation and gaming industries, for instance, are growing quickly with lucrative predictions for the future. We want our youth to position themselves to be able to take advantage of such opportunities globally. Over the 10 years of our existence, we have seen the importance of practical training, and its role in the work search. We, therefore, believe that because our fields are highly technical and practical, a lot of practice and experience are required for any successful career. Unfortunately, some of the talented creatives we engage just got the chance to explore their creative passions and interest after they completed their high school studies. For them, this means that they are starting from scratch as they get into adulthood. Many of their peers globally report having started working on their talents from their childhood. This means that by the time they are completing their education in their respective fields, they have both the technical skills and the practice hours that set them apart from a person that just started their career. An employer is more likely to choose to work with the creative with a rich and diverse portfolio, as opposed to one that doesn't have a record of their work overtime.

Our solution seeks to develop the creative abilities of the youth in Kenya by guiding them through careers they could pursue, and start exposing them to what they would be interested in, from a young age. We believe that this will give them insights as to what they are interested in doing, and start nurturing their interests before they get to high school. This will be achieved through clubs, events, mentor talks, and job shadowing programs. By the time they are in high school, they will have an idea of what they would want to do, and they will get basic training in the sector they would like to concentrate on. They will also get to meet mentors that can advise them as they explore the sector. By the time they graduate from high school, we envision that the students will be clear on what they want to do, and will have put in the practice hours that would help them choose a field of study. They can then proceed to pursue a course in a TVET institution or degree. By the time the student graduates from this level of study, they have at least 5 years of exposure and/or experience, as compared to a student that did not go through the 21st-century talents program. As part of our solution, they will also be put through an apprenticeship program, that would pave the way for entry-level positions, and thus lay the foundation for their careers in the creative tech industry.

Our target population includes youth aged 10 to 19 years interested in creative digital careers. These are individuals who are completing their primary and secondary education but are in need of career guidance and mentorship. In the country, the education system previously focused on a streamlined approach to learning and didn't fully concentrate on career guidance after school. Students have a different expectation of a job, compared to what the day-to-day of the career entails. This leads to disappointment and self-doubt, when the realities of the industry affect the person, leading to potential mental health and confidence issues.

Our solution will expose the students to the various career paths they could take. This will give them clarity as to what to expect, and what the career they are interested in would involve. Exposure to the different paths would allow them to narrow down their interest further to the fields that they are most drawn to, reducing the number of students leaving high school unsure of what they would like to pursue. The program and involvement would get more specialized with time as they grow, to the point where they are graduating from high school knowing exactly what they would study. During their time training post-high school, they would be involved in actual client projects, supervised by their mentors to add to their portfolio of work, and possibly earn them an income as they study. They will also have access to apprenticeships after they complete their diploma or degree program, laying the foundation for entry-level careers, having met the requisite needs for a professional in the field of their choosing.

We have 10 years of experience in the creative education sector, offering training programs at the certificate and diploma levels to the youth that have just completed their high school studies. We have access to the schools that all our students currently come from, which would be a crucial starting point to roll out the program through clubs and school activities. Our current and former students are also a source of information on their challenges or areas where they would have liked additional support during their career decision-making process. We already have relationships with the industry experts that would be the facilitators and mentors on the program, as well as the systems and structures that would be needed to deliver the program successfully. Together with one of our partners, Vytal, we also are better equipped to deliver our creatives program through immersive media and provide the facilities to practise and even work through the Vytal-ADMI labs

We’re applying to contribute to the reduction of youth unemployment by addressing the skills-need mismatch present in the creative tech industry in the region. The problem is not only faced in our country, and therefore we would like to implement this solution and grow it to cover the creative industries within the continent, and how to measure its long term impact, as it is a program whose influence would be felt over time. While we understand that the program would be beneficial to creatives regardless of their cultural background, we acknowledge that different territories would have different environments. Our motivation to apply to is to understand the different cultural contexts and develop our solution to suit the different contexts, in order to expand our reach and have a more impactful result.

Our solution is innovative because it involves intentionally cultivating talents in our youth from when they are young. The current and familiar way of navigating developing our children’s talents is that it comes second to academic efforts. Our solution strives to give more effort to their talent development, to give them more practice hours. There are creatives who start investing time into their talents after high school, and for some even after completing their undergraduate studies and realizing they are not living out their passions. The solution will also involve the use of emerging technologies like AR/VR, which are not widely available to all markets

In a year we wish to have: 

• Created curriculums and industry exposure opportunities for the students that will join the program.
• Signed agreements with 10 industry partners that will support the program through job shadowing and mentorship opportunities.
• Partnered with 5 primary schools to support the program by creating a co-curricular schedule that allows time for talent development.
• Piloted the program, with one cohort of 20 students in primary school, with an interest in a career in a creative media field.

In 5 years we wish to have:

• Improved and robust curriculums adjusted based on future needs within the industry
• Signed agreements with 100 industry partners
• Partnered with 20 primary schools and 20 high schools
• Intakes of over 30 students in primary school with an interest in a career in a creative media field
• Over 80 students in high school in meaningful and intentional mentor relationships

We will achieve our goals through close collaboration with the industry on curriculum development borrowing from the current and future industry needs. We will build partnerships and get agreements with primary schools and high schools that would incorporate the program as one of their co-curricular activities that their students can participate in. We will involve our current employer partners and develop new relationships with other industry practitioners that would like to be involved and have the capacity to be part of the program. These employer partners will serve as the mentors in the program, and will also comprise the teams that the participants would visit during their industry exposure exercises and eventually join for apprenticeships, internships and entry-level jobs as well.

We measure our impact through the following indicators:

• Relevance of curriculums to current and projected industry needs
• Number of industry exposure opportunities or experiences
• Number of industry partners in the program
• Number of primary and secondary schools as partner institutions in the program.
• The number of students impacted by the program
• The number of students’ practice hours
• Number of mentor experiences
• The number of hours for job shadowing 
• The number of work experience opportunities for each student
• Duration for them to get a paying job
• Income earned at different levels of career/career growth

Inputs

• Early industry exposure
• Mentorship and guided career coaching
• Work and project placements
• Apprenticeship

Outputs

• 100 well-guided youth on possible career paths in the creative media sector

Outcome

• Well prepared and polished pool of graduates with the right skills in required competencies.
• Job placements by the time of graduation

Impact

• Higher proportion of youth employed
• Higher proportion of youth venturing into entrepreneurship.

Our solution would be in the creative media tech industry, involving the training of the youth using software and immersive media tools used within the industry. We train in the development of applications and video games, animations, video productions, all using software and equipment. Our labs are available throughout the program to ensure every student we engage with has access to the tools they require to learn.

Our team is committed to incorporating diversity equity and inclusivity in our work in various ways. Our leadership team comprises individuals from various backgrounds, and our processes and policies do not discriminate against age, class, disabilities, culture, ethnicity, marital status and other identity-based human attributes. To address any barriers to inclusion and equity in our programs, we have developed initiatives and partnerships specifically targeting minority or disadvantaged groups to increase their access.

Our business model involves the provision of career coaching, guidance and mentorship to pupils at the primary and secondary school level, in a bid to equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in a career in the creative media technology industry. The program activities will require partnerships with the industry, educational institutions and the students that will be the key beneficiaries of the program. We will work with the educational institutions to enrol their students on the program, on a subscription/membership basis. The participants will be engaged in industry exposure activities such as job shadowing, mentor talks and relationships and overall career pathing and guidance throughout the duration of their studies. The beneficiaries need such guidance to ensure that they are knowledgeable of the different paths they can take in their careers, and what it takes to be successful in the path of their choosing. It also provides them with a platform to form intentional mentor relationships, that will help them navigate their careers in the future.

Our plan is to engage students at the primary and high school level, who will participate in the program on a membership basis, where they will be charged a subscription fee based on the activities within and benefits they will enjoy as a result of the program. We will also leverage our partnerships within our industry to subsidize the cost making it accessible to the students that want to pursue creative careers.

We have run successful programs over the 10 years of our existence, for various programs including training, and entrepreneur support among others. We have raised over $1million combined in grant funding from donors like The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and The French Development Agency (AFD), among others, to run our programs.