In Dundee, KwaZulu-Natal — a rural area where youth unemployment sits above 60% — talented young people had very few pathways into the digital economy. The Dundee Digital Skills Hub was established to open up opportunities, but traditional measures of success such as certifications and job placements risked overlooking the deeper dimensions of growth. Confidence, resilience, and well-being often remained invisible in the data, yet without credible evidence of these outcomes the case for scaling the initiative would always be incomplete.

I led the impact measurement work for the Hub, designing a research approach that could capture both the visible and invisible aspects of youth development. This included a mixed-methods design of ethnographic interviews, reflection workbooks, and quantitative surveys. I developed new tools to measure character traits such as grit, curiosity, self-control, and generative drive — qualities that shape real work readiness. Alongside these, we tracked changes in mental health and personal well-being, dimensions too often ignored in employment programmes. The findings were synthesised into clear narratives and evidence frameworks for funders, partners, and the Hub’s leadership team.

The results were powerful. Participants showed growth not only in technical skills but also in confidence, resilience, and agency. We were able to demonstrate that social-emotional outcomes are not “nice to have,” but directly strengthen employability and long-term success. Most importantly, the work proved that rural youth can thrive in digital careers when programmes are designed to address both skills and well-being.

For the Hub, this was a win–win. Funders and clients gained credible evidence to support scale-up, while young people — and by extension their communities — experienced tangible improvements in their outlook, opportunities, and life chances.