Founder Friday: Hopscotch

For many young South Africans, finding a job after graduation can feel like an uphill battle. Employers say they cannot find the right candidates, while graduates complain that opportunities are scarce. After nearly a decade working at the intersection of youth employment and international work programmes, Hopscotch founder Cara Halliday believes the problem is not as simple as many assume. “I don’t think we have a supply problem, and I don’t think we have a demand problem,” she says. “The disconnect is in the matching.”

It is an observation built on years of experience helping young South Africans access overseas work opportunities and, more recently, graduate careers. But before Hopscotch became a growing recruitment and international placement business, it started with Cara’s own experience of trying to find an opportunity abroad. After finishing school, she spent six months living and working in Italy. While the experience proved invaluable, the process of securing it was far more difficult than it needed to be. At the time, there were no South African agencies helping young people navigate international work opportunities, leaving her to work through an Italian agency while dealing with language and cultural barriers. That experience revealed a gap in the market.

In 2016, she launched Hopscotch, initially focused on helping South Africans access gap-year opportunities overseas. Over the years, the business expanded into countries including Italy, France, the Netherlands and the United States. As the company grew, Cara began noticing a recurring pattern among the young people returning home after working abroad. Many were coming back with skills that employers valued but that traditional education systems often struggle to teach.

Looking Beyond Qualifications

According to Cara, one of the biggest misconceptions in the employment market is the belief that academic qualifications alone determine employability. She argues that some of the most valuable skills employers look for are developed outside the classroom. Living and working in a foreign country requires young people to adapt to new cultures, unfamiliar environments and different ways of doing things. It forces them to become independent, solve problems on their own and communicate with people from a wide range of backgrounds. “You can’t teach those experiences in a classroom,” Cara explains.

Those experiences often translate into qualities employers actively seek, including confidence, adaptability, professionalism and resilience. After placing more than 10,000 South Africans into international work opportunities over the years, Cara has seen first-hand how overseas exposure can shape a candidate’s outlook and confidence when they return home. For employers, those experiences often stand out because they demonstrate a level of independence and maturity that cannot easily be measured on a qualification alone.

The Real Graduate Challenge

While youth unemployment remains one of South Africa’s biggest challenges, Cara believes the conversation often misses a critical point. Companies are not necessarily struggling to find applicants. In fact, many receive more applications than they can realistically process. A company recruiting 100 graduates may receive 6,000 applications. The challenge is not finding applicants but identifying which candidates are genuinely suited to the role.

“The issue isn’t the number of graduates available,” she says. “The challenge is the screening, filtering and assessment process.” This insight ultimately led Hopscotch into graduate recruitment. instead of simply helping young South Africans gain overseas experience, the company began working with businesses to identify candidates who could thrive in specific roles. For Cara, successful recruitment is about much more than filling vacancies. “We don’t measure ourselves on placements,” she says. “We measure ourselves on retention.” That philosophy reflects a broader belief that recruitment should focus on long-term success rather than short-term hiring targets. If a graduate leaves after only a few months, it usually points to a mismatch between the candidate and the company.

Work Readiness Still Matters

One of the recurring issues Cara encounters is the gap between education and workplace expectations. She believes many graduates underestimate the importance of basic professional skills. Something as simple as submitting a CV in the correct format, researching a company before an interview, arriving on time or preparing thoughtful responses can significantly improve a candidate’s chances. At the same time, she is quick to point out that responsibility does not rest solely with graduates.

Many employers want enthusiastic young talent but underestimate the level of guidance and mentorship graduates require during their first few years of employment. “The reality is that graduates need mentorship and guidance,” Cara says. Without proper onboarding and support structures, even talented candidates can struggle to settle into new roles. This is particularly true for smaller businesses that may not have the resources to provide extensive training and development programmes. Having experienced these challenges herself as a business owner, Cara understands both sides of the equation and believes stronger support systems would improve outcomes for graduates and employers alike.

Experience Counts More Than Many Realise

Cara also believes graduates often overlook the value of transferable skills gained through part-time work and international experiences. Jobs in hospitality, retail, tourism or customer service may not seem directly linked to a graduate career, but they teach important workplace habits. Showing up on time, dealing with difficult customers, managing multiple tasks and working under pressure all build skills that employers recognise and appreciate.

“The technical side of a job can often be taught,” she says. “Attitude, reliability and willingness to learn are much harder to teach.” It is a lesson she believes many graduates would benefit from embracing earlier in their careers. She also feels that some young people enter the workplace with unrealistic expectations about career progression, without fully appreciating that experience, trust and responsibility are built over time.

Remaining Optimistic

Despite the challenges facing South Africa’s youth, Cara remains positive about the future. She believes the country’s problems often create opportunities for those willing to tackle them. From the growth of renewable energy businesses during the country’s electricity challenges to new ventures solving everyday problems, she sees entrepreneurship and innovation as important drivers of future growth. She is equally encouraged by the growing number of young people showing an interest in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and other new technologies, seeing this as a sign that many are willing to adapt to changing market demands.

Advice For Future Graduates and Current Graduates

Her advice to young South Africans entering the workforce is grounded in the realities she sees every day. Be adaptable, be teachable and be willing to start wherever the opportunity presents itself. Cara believes many graduates place too much focus on where they think they should start, rather than on what they can learn. Building a career often means earning trust, taking on responsibilities gradually and being willing to do the work that others may overlook. “You’ve got to put your hand up,” she says. “You’ve got to be willing to learn, willing to fall down, pick yourself up and stay curious.” For Cara, attitude, reliability and a willingness to learn remain some of the most valuable qualities any young professional can bring into the workplace.

As Hopscotch approaches its 10th anniversary, that mindset continues to guide the business. What began as one young woman’s difficult experience navigating an overseas work opportunity has grown into a company helping thousands of South Africans gain exposure, build confidence and take meaningful steps towards their future careers. For Cara, the mission remains as relevant today as it was in 2016: helping young people find opportunities they might never have discovered on their own.

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