Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Sihle Zikalala will on Thursday award bursaries to 100 learners from the class of 2023 Matriculants, who have enrolled to study various built environment courses at universities across the country.

The bursaries are part of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure’s (DPWI) Skills Pipeline Programme, which is one of government’s initiatives to bring more skilled professionals into the public sector and specifically the built environment.

As part of building a capable and ethical State, the DPWI annually awards bursaries to pupils in need of financial assistance, who display academic excellence and have been accepted for courses in the built environment for their tertiary education.

The bursary programme further aims to increase the number of built environment professionals from previously disadvantaged backgrounds and ensure transformation of the sector.

It also serves as a feeder to the department’s Internship and Young Professionals Programme and later f
orms a pool of qualified built environment professionals to serve the state in the delivery of infrastructure projects.

The bursary is for careers in the built industry, including Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Marine Engineering, Property Studies/Real Estate, Actuarial Science, Quantity Surveying, Construction Project Management, Landscape Architecture, Architecture and Town and Regional Planning.

The bursary covers tuition, accommodation, meals, textbooks, project and compulsory study resources and a monthly stipend.

In its 10th year of existence since 2014, the DPWI bursary programme has so far benefited over 500 deserving students, an investment of over R160 million into the lives of the students and to bring the required skills into the public sector.

Source: South African Government News Agency