New look for Masicorp Bursary Programme

Masicorp believes that learners who are empowered with information on the options available to them and armed with the knowledge and skills to access these opportunities will be more motivated and will make educated decisions about their futures and therefore increase their chance of success and ultimately, break the cycle of poverty.

Over the past 9 years Masicorp has provided a highly successful university bursary programme – offering both financial and mentoring support to students from Masi who wished to undertake courses at local universities/colleges. Starting from just three students in 2009 we have supported over 50 students with their studies.

Owing to the recent changes in state funding for students and the rapid increase in university fees, the programme became unsustainable and we made the decision to relaunch the bursary programme in 2019, under two umbrellas: Pathways (for Matric students) and the Masicorp Fellowship Programme.

Pathways

In 2016, Masi High School’s matric pass rate plummeted to 48%, the second lowest in the Western Cape. This, along with the fact that 32,4% of the youth between that ages of 15–24 years are not in employment, education or training, leaves the learners of Masi High School in an incredibly vulnerable position where the odds are stacked against them in terms of breaking the cycle of poverty and successfully entering the economy.

Our Pathways programme will kick off with a Pathways Careers Indaba to be held at Masi High in May and then be proceeded by a series of workshops for grade 12 learners.

We hope that through this programme, we will be exposing learners from Masi High to a variety of work, career and study pathways available to them as well as empowering them to make informed choices and take appropriate action. The Pathways Career Indaba will invite a variety of vendors ranging from NGO’s offering skills-based training which require no matric to vocational training programmes and private companies and individuals showcasing careers that students may know nothing or little about. We are also partnering with organisations and individuals who will present workshops on work readiness skills, give personal testament and share inspirational stories. A series of structured workshops will follow the Careers Indaba with the objective of providing academic, career and psycho-social support to matric learners specifically. All matric learners from Masi High will be offered the opportunity to attend the first Pathways workshop however, learners will need to complete an application to attend the workshops.

The Masicorp Fellowship

The Masicorp Fellowship offers students from the community of Masiphumelele a comprehensive financial bursary as well as matches students with a partnering company who will provide industry mentorship, vacation work as well as graduate placement. Our goal is to equip students to be highly competitive graduates in their field.

The Masicorp Fellowship is looking to partner with companies based in Cape Town who believe we have a shared responsibility to support youth out of poverty and are willing to provide not only financial support, but industry exposure and work place opportunity to students who show exceptional potential.

Get in touch to find out more about partnering with our Pathways or Fellowship programmes. Or download our Pathways and Fellowship brochures