Key facts
- Status
- Applications closed Closed 25 September 2026
- Provider
- Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority (INSETA)
- Field of study
- ICT, Commerce
- Study level
- TVET / college, University
- Last checked
- September 2026
The CET college funding window ran from 16 to 25 September 2026; graduates cannot apply to INSETA, and no approved colleges or start dates were announced by 29 September 2026.
VerifiedThe Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority (INSETA) funds a 12-month internship for unemployed young graduates that runs through public Community Education and Training (CET) colleges rather than through insurance companies. INSETA pays for stipends of R4 500 or R6 500 a month, depending on the intern’s qualification. Graduates cannot apply to INSETA for these places. In September 2026 INSETA invited public CET colleges to apply for the funding between 16 and 25 September 2026, and it says only colleges may apply: “No applications directly from learners/graduates to INSETA will be considered.”
Why the colleges apply, not the graduates
INSETA gives internship money through discretionary grant windows. For this programme, the grant holder is a public CET college. The college fills in INSETA’s one-page application form, giving its name, address, province and a representative, the qualification streams it wants, and the total number of interns it requires in each of two categories: Matric plus a one-year qualification, and Matric plus a three-year qualification. INSETA’s internship guidelines say the funded organisation signs a funding agreement with INSETA, and the intern works under a contract of employment with that organisation.
The September 2026 notice was a re-advertisement of the 2026/2027 discretionary grants window for CET colleges. It warned that programmes may only start once INSETA has communicated its approval. INSETA had not published a list of approved colleges or a start date by 29 September 2026, and it has not said how or when approved colleges will recruit interns.
R4 500 or R6 500 a month for 12 months
| Intern’s qualification | Monthly stipend | INSETA’s annual figure |
|---|---|---|
| Matric plus a one-year certificate | R4 500 | R54 000 |
| Matric plus a national diploma or degree | R6 500 | R78 000 |
The advert sets the programme at 12 months. INSETA’s guidelines for unemployed internships add rules that protect the stipend: the host must pay at least the agreed stipend on the agreed date even if INSETA has not yet paid its tranche, and no deductions are allowed other than legal ones such as UIF. Hosts must also give each intern a signed contract of employment at the start, payslips throughout, and a mentor, with no more than three interns per mentor.
Who can become an intern
The advert and guidelines together set these conditions:
- South African citizenship, unemployed, and aged 18 to 35
- Matric plus a completed post-school qualification of at least one year
- a qualification in one of five streams: information and communication technology (ICT), finance, risk, human resources, or sales and marketing
- not already on another INSETA-funded programme in the same 12-month period, unless INSETA itself initiated it
The guidelines also say that someone who left an earlier INSETA-funded programme before finishing will not be considered unless the employer makes a special case and INSETA agrees.
What a graduate can do now
Graduates in these streams should watch for internship notices from their nearest public CET college, since approved colleges hold the places. INSETA posts its funding notices on its adverts page, where the CET internship notice and the college application form are listed. The full rules are in INSETA’s unemployed internship guidelines. College applications and enquiries go to internships@inseta.org.za or Ms Kgomotso Makgaleng on 011 381 8900; the notice gives no separate route for graduates.
Students who have not yet finished a qualification can look at the INSETA bursary, which funds study towards insurance-sector careers. Graduates outside these streams can follow the national government internships circulars.
