With the chaos and confusion over free tertiary education in South Africa still lingering at the start of every academic year, companies are still doing what they can to finance students who stand out and have the potential to add much-needed skills to the country’s workforce.Recently, Capitec Chief Executive, Gerrie Fourie described the local hiring market as a ‘war of talent’ with businesses struggling to hire from a limited talent pool.
According to the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, South Africa’s banking sector is desperate for a number of tech-related roles. The government has identified a big gap in cybersecurity skills and is currently working with other entities within departments to try and plug it. However, the good news is that many of the country’s top banks provide bursary programmes or scholarships to help bolster the country’s skilled workforce. Top banks often provides programmes to filter educated graduates into their companies. In many cases, they pay a student’s tuition fees to attend university and gain a valuable employee once their studies have been completed.