SCGV's investment in employer-led apprenticeships comes as 1.2 billion young people in developing countries prepare to reach working age over the next decade.
BluLever apprentices in action. Photo courtesy of BluLever.
BANGKOK/ GENEVA, 13 October 2026
As finance ministers, central bankers and development leaders meet this week in Bangkok for the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings, Save the Children Global Ventures (SCGV) has announced a new investment in BluLever Education.
BluLever is a South African vocational training company that prepares young people for careers as plumbers, electricians, mechanics and solar technicians.
The investment was made through SCGV’s Children’s Impact Multiplier Fund, with the support of private donors, and will bolster BluLever’s expansion to a second campus in Cape Town. This will help more young people from low-income households gain skills and well-paid work.
Over the next decade, 1.2 billion young people in developing countries will reach working age, but only around 400 million jobs are projected for them, according to World Bank figures.
South Africa shows how big the gap has become, with official figures putting youth unemployment at 61% among 15- to 24-year-olds. At the same time, more than one in five employers say they struggle to recruit qualified artisans. For many young people, there is no clear path from school into work.
BluLever was founded in 2019 and designs its programmes with employers, so that graduates leave with the practical skills industries need. The organisation offers the clear path from school into work – a qualification, an employer and a wage – with its three-year apprenticeship combining learning on campus with paid placements. Apprentices earn while they learn and graduate with real work experience.
Of the BluLever graduates who have passed their trade test, 88% are employed or continuing their studies. Women make up 35% of its apprentices, in trades such as plumbing where fewer than 3% of workers are women.
BluLever opened its first campus in Johannesburg in 2021 and plans to open its second in Cape Town later in 2026. In Rwanda, it is working with the Ministry of Education to create the country’s first formal qualification for plumbers.
Alongside the investment, SCGV and BluLever see opportunities to work with Save the Children in South Africa to help more young people, particularly those from low-income households, move from training into decent work.
Paul Ronalds, CEO of SCGV, said:
“Good jobs are built on good foundations: first literacy and numeracy, then skills that employers value. Too many young Africans fall at that last step. BluLever enables young people to learn trades the market needs, such as plumbing, electrical work and solar installation. 88% of its graduates go on to work or further study, and more than a third of its apprentices are women, in trades where women are fewer than 3% of the workforce. That is how investment turns into opportunity.”
Jess Roussos and Adam Collier, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of BluLever, said:
“This investment helps us grow, starting with our new campus in Cape Town, where 90 employers have already signed letters of intent to host apprentices. Many young people want to work in the trades but have no way in. Our mandate is to create meaningful pathways for young people to build sustainable careers in trades. We look forward to working with Save the Children’s teams to reach more of them.”
ABOUT BLULEVER EDUCATION
BluLever Education is a South African vocational training company founded in 2019 with the mission of empowering Africa’s artisans with skills for the future. It offers accredited apprenticeships in plumbing, electrical and automotive trades, a solar technician programme, short courses for working tradespeople and its Artisan Academy for informal artisan entrepreneurs.
ABOUT SAVE THE CHILDREN GLOBAL VENTURES (SCGV)
Save the Children Global Ventures (SCGV) was established in 2023 by Save the Children, the world’s first and leading independent children’s organisation. SCGV is a child-centred innovative finance team. It identifies and supports enterprises that deliver health, education, protection and economic opportunities for vulnerable children and young people. Based in Switzerland, SCGV combines financial returns with measurable impact to improve children’s lives at scale.
This investment was made through SCGV’s Children’s Impact Multiplier Fund. The fund applies child-lens investing principles, structuring capital to incentivise measurable improvements for children and young people across low- and middle-income countries.
###
For media enquiries, please contact:
Daphnee Cook (Paris) daphnee.cook@savethechildren.org
Amy Lefevre (Bangkok) amy.lefevre@savethechildren.org
