Chrysalis Academy Youth Programme and Paid Internship

Written by Thabo MokoenaSenior Education Editor

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

Chrysalis Academy is a youth development centre on the Porter Estate in Tokai, Cape Town, set up in 2000 and sponsored by the Western Cape Government’s community safety department. It takes unemployed young people from the Western Cape aged 18 to 25 through a three-month residential course and then places its graduates in a one-year paid internship. The Academy runs three courses a year, two for men and one for women, with about 230 students on each.

The course is free apart from a non-refundable R450 fee paid on intake day, according to the Western Cape Government’s service page. The Academy describes itself as a youth leadership and development organisation and says it does not offer drug rehabilitation or support for troubled youth.

The Western Cape youth the Academy accepts

The Academy’s residency page lists these criteria:

• aged 18 to 25, and not turning 26 before or during the course;
• Grade 9 passed in mainstream schooling;
• currently unemployed and not in education or other training;
• no criminal record, and no drug use, cannabis included;
• living in the Western Cape.

A 17-year-old cannot apply early. The Academy explains that SAYouth.mobi, the platform it uses, treats 17-year-olds as minors who cannot yet enter the labour market.

Four phases in three months at Tokai

Students live on campus for the full three months, and every phase is compulsory. The provincial service page describes them in this order:

1. Orientation. A daily routine built on discipline, neatness and hygiene, with life skills such as leadership, emotional intelligence, goal setting, conflict management, basic health and nutrition, and level 1 first aid.
2. Outdoor. Hiking across the Cape Peninsula, team challenges and a 24-hour solo in nature, followed by the first family visit.
3. Skills. Technical training and career guidance chosen to suit the job market. Options named include welding, basic cookery, hairdressing and grooming, office administration and digital literacy, child and youth care, peace officer training, electrical circuitry and sports coaching.
4. Community and exit. Work readiness and community service, such as coaching sport in schools or helping at old-age homes.

Students also get individual counselling and life coaching, plus yoga and Tension and Trauma Release Exercises. Parents and guardians are invited to three workshops, and families visit twice per course.

The one-year paid internship and five years of aftercare

Two days after graduating, students start a one-year paid internship with an institution in the Western Cape, arranged in partnership with the provincial government. Graduates quoted on the Academy’s site were placed at a police station in Caledon and in the food unit of Robertson Hospital. The Academy does not publish the internship stipend.

During the internship, graduate fieldworkers visit workplaces to check on progress and support both interns and supervisors. Graduates stay in a five-year aftercare programme that links them to jobs, learnerships and volunteer posts, and the Academy runs 14 Youth Hubs in high-risk areas for graduates and other young people. Its about page reports 674 one-year paid internships and 260 graduates in permanent jobs.

The Academy notes that many graduates go on to finish their National Senior Certificate or study further. Adults without Matric can look at the UCT Online High School adult Matric scholarship, and anyone drawn to trade work after the skills phase can see our list of welding bursaries.

Applying on SAYouth.mobi, not on paper

The Academy no longer accepts paper application forms. Applicants create a profile on SAYouth.mobi, complete it fully, and apply for the three-month course there while an intake is open. The Academy advises having a working email address, since it sends correspondence by email. Applicants who meet the criteria are invited to an interview at the Academy and a physical assessment, and everyone is vetted before being accepted.

The Academy announces application dates for each course on its website and social media. When we checked, the SAYouth listing linked from its site showed as closed, and the site still carried an old notice that applications open in June 2025. No date for the next intake was published. Enquiries go to 021 712 1023 or info@chrysalisacademy.org.za.

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