INTRODUCING
THE FUTURE OF
ARTISAN EDUCATION
IN AFRICA
BluLever Education is a demanded, connected, & innovative vocational education startup. Join us on our journey to empower Africa's artisans with skills for the future.
Africa's Challenges
Africa has 3 major challenges that we are addressing.
Essentially, Africa has a perfect storm on the horizon: a youth bulge, increasing unemployment, and a clear technical skills gap.
1. Youth Bulge
70%
Africa has the most youthful population in the world.
70% of our population is currently under the age of 30, with our average age being just 19.5. This youth bulge is on a trajectory to continue to grow.
2. Increasing Unemployment
1.1bn
By 2035, Africa will have the world's largest workforce, some 1,1 billion people. At this point, 40% of the world's workforce will be African. With no clear solutions the growing unemployment problem is poised to worsten.
3. Technical Skills Gap
100+
By 2050, the populations of Africa's cities will double. We will have over 100 cities with more than a million inhabitants. This rapid urbanisation will require increased infrastructure development and supporting services.
We are solving some of Africa's biggest challenges by upskilling the artisans that build our continent. We believe that to develop our continent our people need better artisan education.
Forgotten Fixers
While university education has become our society's pinnacle of aspiration, something we invest in and innovate on constantly, vocational training has been forgotten.
We take the skilling of our white-collar workforce seriously while ignoring our blue-collar workers.
HARDEST ROLES TO FILL
Artisan roles are the hardest to fill.
According to the 2018 Manpower Report, artisan roles are the hardest to fill both in SA and globally
ARTISANS ARE AGING
Fifty-five is the average age of an artisan.
SA's artisans are aging, with little skills transfer occurring. Young people are struggling to build artisan careers.
At BluLever, we take artisan education seriously: building highly effective, future-focused training solutions and catalysing change in dysfunctional artisan ecosystems.
EMPOWERING ARTISANS
WITH SKILLS FOR THE FUTURE
Our vision is to prepare Africa for the 4th Industrial Revolution by developing and mobilising a movement of 5 million artisans as active citizens.
OUR 3 BIG BETS
We build scalable, replicable solutions to achieve this vision, through holistic vocational education & skills training that creates ethical industry professionals of a global standard.
Impact Education
100+ Artisan SME's
Ignited For Growth
Through our artisan entrepreneur incubation programme, we have reached 100+ artisans, who have seen an average revenue growth of 150% after 5 months.
SME INCUBATION HUB
550+ Candidates Ready To Self-Lead
Over 10 versions of Leadership Base Camp, our readiness programme, 550+ candidates have had life changing experiences, giving a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 97
LEADERSHIP BASE CAMP
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300+ Apprentices
Building Careers
We currently have 300+ apprentices, placed with over 100 employers for their employer-based learning. Employers rate apprentice value to their team an average of 4/5
APPRENTICESHIP
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Industry Leading Research
As a demand-led business, research has been paramount to BluLever's success. The Artisan Report, Insight Series Report and the 5-year plumbing strategy have deepened BluLever's and the industry's knowledge.
RESEARCH
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My BluLever Apprenticeship
Read the stories of our BluLever apprentices who are building prosperity for themselves and shifting the mindsets of their team mates, of businesses and the entire artisan industry.
The Artisan Opportunity
The opportunity and demand for artisan development is huge.
SA has a national target to develop 30 000 artisans /year. Current numbers are at 13 000, leaving a deficit of 17 000 artisans.
2.1 million jobs
in the SA artisan sector
280 000 roles needed
in SA plumbing alone
~100 000 artisan owned
micro-enterprises in SA
40 000+ artisan trained
/year to fulfill industry deficit
BluLever Alumni
Discover the journeys of our BluLever alumni, individuals who have achieved personal success while reshaping perspectives within their teams, businesses, and the wider artisan community.
Within the next 10 years we aim to train 22 000 young people in South Africa alone. Additionally we plan to expand to the rest of the continent and further grow our reach.
BLULEVER
IS BUILT
TO CREATE IMPACT
AT SCALE
We're focused on impacting as many lives as possible which is why BluLever is purpose-built to scale.
BUILT TO SCALE
REPLICABILITY
We build a blueprint for everything we do so that we can easily repeat it. This allows us to replicate systems, culture and ways of working as we scale to multiple locations.
MODULARITY
Everything we build is modular, like puzzle pieces that fit together. This enables us to easily scale from one artisan trade to another with modules (like soft skills) that fit other trades.
VALUE CHAIN SCALING
We are able to scale through the value chain by applying BluLever thinking and approaches to solve problems that exist across a broken system and provide sustainable solutions.
ECOSYSTEM
PARTNERSHIPS
We don't believe that we can or should be doing everything alone. We know that we go further together. We invest in developing ecosystem partnerships which enable us to scale.
Our Partners
"BluLever goes beyond tackling unemployment. Our holistic training prioritizes development, providing support in every aspect. This approach instills confidence that we're not just nurturing problem-solvers but doing so with genuine care."
Nomsa Nyoni
Sales Supportive Associate
"I believe that BluLever holds the keys to prosperity for all those young South Africans who should be artisans. We're teaching these young fixers to lead themselves. That's why I give my all every day to tell this story."
Dylan Bosman
Director of Marketing
"At Blulever, it’s not just about filling a seat, it’s about opening doors and creating opportunities for the artisans of tomorrow. We don’t just train artisans; we cultivate a new generation of skilled professionals who will help build South Africa."
Thami Ntombela
Learning Manager
"Blulever plays an important role in the Artisan Industry and is instrumental in shifting the narrative so artisan careers are more aspirational. The dedication and passion displayed by Blulever helps to bring fresh life to this industry."
Alessandro Mendes
Senior Student Recruitment Associate
Our Partners
These are the partnerships that empower and enable BluLever. We don't believe we can or should be doing everything ourselves. We believe in building ecosystem solutions.
Access Our Learnings
Access BluLever's industry-leading research and learn more about SA's artisan ecosystem.
While our core business is training, we are always on the lookout for opportunities to add value and to further build a base of knowledge for the artisan ecosystem.
Keep up to date with what is happening in the artisan ecosystem.
Sign up and we’ll share our latest articles that are focused on the developments, insights, case studies, and inspirational stories in the artisan ecosystem.
Be part of the change. Partner for impact.
We believe in building ecosystem solutions, where everyone is part of making a change. We’re always looking for new partners to help us connect the dots. If you want to work with us as we challenge the status quo and build the future of artisans in Africa, get in touch.
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