Alberton Rocking Future Career Expo for 2026 hosted its final event at Bracken High School on May 13.

The expos have spent the past 25 years helping South African learners discover career paths, study opportunities and skills needed for the future.

The expo focuses on guiding school leavers as they prepare for life after matric and face important decisions about careers, tertiary education and employment.

This year, the expos visited 136 schools across Gauteng between January and May, reaching 18 462 learners.

The programme continues to grow each year and now reaches around 240 schools and approximately 35 000 matric learners annually before the end of May.

The expos are organised by the 3RC team and aim to educate, motivate and inspire young people to ignite their passion, discover their strengths and confidently follow their dreams.

Final Alberton Expo at Bracken High SchoolThe final Alberton Rocking Future Career Expo of the year was held at Bracken High School.

Learners attending the expo were given the opportunity to interact directly with representatives from leading private tertiary institutions and learn more about available study options, career paths and future opportunities.

The expos create meaningful experiences where learners walk away informed, inspired, and excited about their futures, rather than feeling anxious or uncertain.

How the initiative started

The Rocking Future Career Expos were founded in 2001 by Kay Cheytanov, who was then a professional musician touring the country.

After hearing an advert for a college on radio, she realised there was an opportunity to combine motivational speaking, music and career guidance to help learners explore future opportunities while still entertaining audiences through live performances.

The first year included visits to 25 schools with a full band and four colleges participating. The following year, the programme expanded to 80 schools as the initiative continued to grow across the country.

Over the years, the expos evolved into a large-scale career guidance platform featuring interactive presentations, multimedia, youth-focused content and partnerships with leading tertiary institutions and youth brands.

Giving learners more career choices

The Rocking Future Career Expos help learners understand that there are many pathways to success after school.

The expos introduce learners to a wide range of study fields, including business, information technology, law, teaching, healthcare, agriculture, sports science, animation, arts and design.

Private tertiary institutions play an important role in the expos by helping learners explore study opportunities outside traditional state universities.

Many of these institutions offer accredited qualifications, skills development programmes and opportunities that prepare learners for employment locally and internationally.

The programme also highlights careers that are becoming increasingly popular among young people, including social media management, marketing, game design, UX and UI design.

Preparing learners for employment

One of the major goals of the expos is to help learners become work-ready and improve their chances of employment in a country facing high youth unemployment.

Participating tertiary institutions not only provide information about courses and qualifications, but also expose students to practical training opportunities and possible employers during their studies.

This helps learners gain workplace experience and better prepare for future careers.

Support beyond the school visits

To reach more learners across South Africa, the Rocking Future team launched the Swiwel online platform during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

The virtual career expo platform allows learners from Grades Eight to 12 to access career guidance online at any time.

The platform includes personality tests, career assessments, information on more than 40 institutions, and an AI assistant called SAI that helps learners explore study opportunities and career choices.

The Rocking Future Career Expos continue to encourage learners to believe that success does not follow one straight path and that there are many opportunities available after school.

The initiative promotes lifelong learning, informed decision-making and resilience while helping learners understand that setbacks do not define their future.