25 years ago, a young working mom and performer, Kay Cheytanov created 3RC. She combined her passion for education and performance together with love for her child and created the Rocking Future career expos, which helps high school students across South Africa to find their career path through post school study opportunities.
“As a professional musician at the time, I’d had enough of singing all over the country in pubs and clubs. I needed a new audience, and the inspiration struck one day while driving in my car. I heard an advert on the radio for a Computer College. The puzzle pieces fell together, and I realised that if I offered schools a motivational show where I would sing and tell my story and combine it with future study options, that I would be able to keep singing and help learners discover different options,” says Kay.
“The first year we did 25 schools – (full band in tow) and 4 colleges. The second year I toured alone to 80 schools to promote my new single Time that hit number 2 on the Top 100 in May 2002. I also gave birth to my son and that changed the game completely. My passion shifted from being a rockstar to being a mom and businesswoman.”
“25 years on, the expo reaches 240 schools and around 35,000 Grade 12 students annually, all before the end of May. We have 46 private tertiary institutions on board. At every school we have 28 exhibitors during the 2-hour expo. My aim and dream – to motivate, educate and inspire the youth but now we have young MC’s that can communicate on their level delivering fun filled presentations through multimedia and youth brands that see value in speaking to these learners and giving them cool merchandise during the expo. Students also receive a Future Guide magazine which can also be found online and provides useful information for students.”
“The expos address the specific challenges faced by South African youth in terms of career development and employment by presenting them with a wide variety of choices which are available at private tertiary institutions. Rocking Future helps to remove the barrier to entry that they face when applying for State University slots. Private tertiary institutions are certified with the exact same qualifications as State Universities and are able to place learners in study choices according to their needs. They also offer skills development courses all the way up to Masters Degrees. Most of the institutions we represent are also accredited overseas and that opens more doors for their students. The biggest challenge is placing these learners into the job market when they have completed their studies and that is where our private institutions excel. During their studies, students are introduced to potential employers. Students complete practical studies within these companies. All of this adds to their work readiness and helps these students excel in their future career paths.”
“We provide institutions that can cover every direction – from the arts to business to IT to Hospitality. We have specialist colleges like Animation School and various institutions like STADIO and EDUVOS where you can study anything from Teaching to Law.”
In 2020, during the pandemic Swiwel was specially developed so that students could still experience the career expo and now it exists for students who aren’t able to attend the expos in person. Swiwel is the world’s first ever 3D immersive career expo, so students from anywhere in the country can access the expo information, which is literally life transforming. This is available to all Grade 8 to 12 learners in all provinces at any time of the day. It has Career Corner where learners can do free personality tests and career assessments. It also contains over 40 institutions and an AI robot called SAI that will give learners information about where to study and what to expect.
“The message I would like students to take away is that success does not have a straight line. Instead, life will take you on a path of discovery and if you are a lifelong learner, you will always win. I also want them to know that if they don’t get into that State University of their choice – that life does not end. There are so many other options available to them. Trust the process and make sure the decisions made are well researched and understood,” says Kay.
In 2024, Kay created the High Five shows which are now being rolled out across all our major cities in South Africa from July to October 2025! This interactive theatre show is designed to help learners deal with the stress and anxiety they face in this digital world. The High 5 shows were created as a result of Kay’s own daughter being bullied at school, when Kay saw the devastating impact this had on her child – she had to do something positive to help.
All these education programs are the brainchild of one women, Kay Cheytanov. Inspired by her children, harnessing her creative background and passion for youth education and empowerment, she’s been educating, motivating and inspiring South African students for 25 years.
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