What is Y-TOPP?
The Youth Transition Opportunities & Pathways Programme is a youth development programme designed to support young people as they navigate the transition from secondary school into their next stage of life.
Y-TOPP provides a structured space where young people can Discover → Develop → Connect → Act. We combine personal development, skills development, career exploration, employability, entrepreneurship, mentorship and exposure to real-world opportunities. Our approach is practical, participatory and youth-centred.
Our vision
A future where every young person has the confidence, information, skills, networks and opportunities to make informed choices about their future.
Our mission
To bridge the gap between matric and meaningful post-school opportunities by providing young people with the support, skills, networks and pathways they need to move forward.
Who is Y-TOPP for?
Y-TOPP primarily supports young people aged 18–30, particularly:
- Recent matriculants
- Young people who are unemployed
- Young people not in education, employment or training
- Young people uncertain about their next step
- Young people exploring entrepreneurship
- Young people seeking skills, experience and opportunities
We meet young people where they are — and help them move forward.
We don't just tell young people what to do
We help them discover their pathway.
Experiential learning
Learning through doing, reflection and practical activities.
Mentorship & coaching
Supportive relationships that encourage accountability and growth.
Exposure
Connecting young people to organisations, industries and real opportunities.
Community engagement
Working with communities, schools, organisations and partners.
Youth voice
Young people shape their experience — they are not simply recipients.
Reflection & action
Turning learning into practical next steps.
Meet the founder
Nosipho Waqu
Founder & Programme Lead | Y-TOPP
Nosipho Waqu is an education, programme management and community development practitioner with more than 19 years of experience across education, youth development and community-based programmes. Her experience spans programme design and implementation, community mobilisation, stakeholder engagement, training, monitoring and evaluation and capacity building.
Driven by a deep commitment to young people's agency and potential, she founded Y-TOPP to address a challenge she observed repeatedly: young people completing matric with limited support, information and networks to navigate what comes next.
Beyond her work with Y-TOPP, Nosipho serves on the Board of Directors as Deputy Chairperson for both Ikamva Labantwana Bethu and The Loxion Mobile Library — two community-driven organisations working to advance education, literacy and opportunity for young people.
Young people do not lack potential. Sometimes they simply lack a pathway.