Key facts
- Status
- Applications closed Closed 20 April 2026
- Provider
- merSETA
- Field of study
- Commerce, Accounting, Law, ICT, Project Management
- Study level
- University
- Last checked
- September 2026
MerSETA's 24-month internship advert closed on 20 April 2026, and no new internship intake had been announced on the merSETA recruitment page in late September 2026.
VerifiedThe Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services SETA (merSETA) takes on its own interns in addition to funding students through its bursary. Its 2026 advert invited graduates to apply for a 24-month internship programme in merSETA departments at the Parktown head office in Johannesburg and at regional offices around the country. That round closed on 20 April 2026, and merSETA has not published a date for another intake.
This is a workplace programme inside the SETA itself, not a sector placement at a manufacturer or motor retailer. merSETA describes itself in the advert as a Schedule 3A public entity that handles skills development for metal and engineering, motor retail and components manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, plastics manufacturing and new tyre manufacturing. The interns work in the SETA’s own units, such as finance, grants management and ICT.
Stipend by qualification level
merSETA pays a monthly stipend that rises with the intern’s highest qualification:
| Qualification | NQF level | Monthly stipend |
|---|---|---|
| Three-year National Diploma | 6 | R10,000 |
| Bachelor’s degree or BTech | 7 | R11,000 |
| Honours or other postgraduate qualification | 8 and above | R12,000 |
The contract is fixed-term for 24 months. The advert does not mention a permanent post at the end, and merSETA states that it may choose not to make any appointments.
First-time interns with no work experience
The 2026 advert set two conditions besides a qualification in the right field:
- South African citizenship, age 18 to 35, and no work experience.
- No previous or current internship. A graduate who has already done an internship elsewhere, or is on one now, does not qualify.
merSETA says it is an equal opportunity employer and gives preference to suitably qualified affirmative action candidates and people living with disabilities, in line with its Employment Equity Plan.
Units that took interns in 2026
Most of the 2026 posts were at head office in Parktown. The advert listed each unit, the number of interns wanted and the qualifications it would accept:
| Unit | Interns | Qualifications named |
|---|---|---|
| Learning Programmes and QA | 4 | Business or office administration, project management, training |
| Grants Management | 4 | Business administration, finance management, accounting |
| Finance | 3 | Accounting or financial management |
| Sector Skills Planning, Research and Innovation, Chambers | 3 | Business administration, management, project management, commerce, social sciences, skills development, training |
| Human Resources | 2 | Labour law, human resources, labour relations, industrial psychology, social sciences |
| Assets | 2 | Business administration, financial management, accounting |
| Marketing and Communications | 2 | Journalism, marketing, public relations, communications |
| Supply Chain | 2 | Public administration, logistics or supply chain management, finance, accounting, business administration |
| Company Secretariat | 2 | Law |
| Legal and Compliance | 1 | Labour law |
| Travel | 1 | Travel and tourism |
| Project Management | 1 | Business or office administration, commerce, project management, development, training |
| Monitoring and Reporting | 1 | Business administration, management, project management, commerce, social sciences, skills development, training |
| Quality Management | 1 | Quality systems, operations management, engineering |
| ICT (Networks) | 1 | Communications networks or support services |
| ICT (Development) | 1 | System development or computer science |
| ICT (Library and Information) | 1 | Library and information science or information science |
Every head office unit accepted either a National Diploma or a Bachelor’s degree in the listed fields, “or related field” in most cases.
Client Services in the regions
merSETA also advertised 16 Client Services posts at its regional offices, two per region: Gauteng South A and B, Gauteng North, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, and Free State and Northern Cape. These asked for a diploma or degree in business administration or management, project management, commerce, social sciences, skills development or training.
A recruitment agency ran the 2026 applications
The 2026 advert did not send applicants to a merSETA portal. It named Rapid Recruiting and gave four routes: emailing a CV to the agency, sending a CV by WhatsApp, applying on PNet, or applying through the agency’s LinkedIn listing. merSETA said that anyone who had not heard back within two weeks of the closing date should consider the application unsuccessful.
The merSETA recruitment page still links an internship application form from an earlier intake. That form says only completed application forms are considered and that CVs and letters are ignored, which differs from the 2026 CV-based process. Follow whatever the next advert itself says, since the two routes have not been the same from one intake to the next.
Other merSETA funding for students
The internship is for graduates who have already finished a diploma or degree. Students still studying in merSETA’s sectors should look at the merSETA bursary instead, and the merSETA provider profile gathers the SETA’s other programmes. Internships at national departments and other public bodies appear in our round-up of public sector internships.
FAQs
This round is not open right now. Check the provider’s own site for the next round.
Visit the provider’s website
About merSETA
Sector Education and Training Authority (public entity)
The Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (merSETA) is one of 21 SETAs set up under the Skills Development Act of 1998. merSETA covers manufacturing, engineering and related services, including the motor industry, and…
Read the full merSETA profile →- Address
- merSETA House, 95 7th Avenue, Melville, Johannesburg, 2109
- Phone
- 011 219 3000
- Website
- merseta.org.za