Netflix has named 14 young South Africans to the first cohort of its ScreenCraft Pathways training programme and confirmed that a second cohort will begin in 2027, extending a workforce-development initiative tied to the South African government's youth-employment agenda.
Each trainee will take a paid 12-month placement in a below-the-line crew role of their choosing, across pre-production, production and post-production, embedded within Netflix's network of local production and post-production partners. The programme is administered by Tshikululu Social Investments and delivered with the Gauteng Film Commission and the KwaZulu-Natal Tourism and Film Authority.
The cohort: Thobeka Nkosi, Lebohang Tsotetsi, Paballo Segalagala, Noluthando Tshazibane, Reotshepile Mohutsiwa, Tiny Mapodile, Ikageng Madia, Nontobeko Mbhele, Keletso Lesetla, Tyler-Vorne Arendse, Sipho Nuse, Bryoni Baxter, Didintle Ledwaba and Chloe Beukes.
Placements sit inside seven companies: Burnt Onion, Quizzical Pictures, The Refinery, Midnight VFX, Rechord Post, Mushroom Media and Gambit Films. Trainees will work alongside professionals on active productions, with access to workshops led by Netflix on technical and career skills.
Netflix announced the cohort and the renewal at a Youth Month event in Johannesburg, co-hosted with the two regional film bodies, that gathered filmmakers, industry organisations and government representatives. The company positioned the programme against the government's 2026 Youth Month theme, "Year of Putting Young South Africans to Work." Pelin Mavili, Netflix's director of global affairs for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa, and Ben Amadasun, its vice-president of content for the Middle East and Africa, attended, alongside Gauteng MEC for Education, Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation Lebogang Maile.
Mavili described South Africa's creative economy as one of the continent's strongest growth opportunities and framed the programme as a structured route into the industry for new entrants. Gauteng Film Commission CEO Keitumetse Lebaka and KZN Tourism and Film Authority acting CEO Sibusiso Gumbi each tied the initiative to the gap between training and paid employment in the local sector.
The structure is worth noting. ScreenCraft Pathways is a skills and workforce play routed through a social-investment vehicle, distinct from Netflix's content-commissioning spend in the country. Its packaging around national socio-economic goals, and the presence of Netflix's global-affairs leadership at the launch, fits a pattern of streamers aligning local investment with government priorities in the markets where they operate.
A call for applications for the next cohort will follow.