Key facts
- Status
- Check with the provider
- Provider
- MQA
- Field of study
- Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering
- Study level
- University, TVET / college
- Last checked
- September 2026
MQA publishes no application dates for graduates, who apply to host companies; the employers' window for 2026/27 internship grants closed on 16 February 2026.
VerifiedThe Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA), the Sector Education and Training Authority for mining and minerals, started a graduate development programme in 2005 that it now calls the Internship Programme. It gives unemployed graduates two years of structured work experience in the field they studied, at a mine or another company in the sector, with a workplace coach passing on skills. MQA does not employ the interns itself and does not take applications from graduates. It pays a grant to the host company, and the host company recruits, places and pays the intern.
R340,002 per intern, paid to the host employer
Under the MQA Funding Policy for the 2026/27 financial year, the grant is at most R340,002 per learner for a maximum of two years, paid to the employer in advance, in instalments of R56,667 every four months. The first payment follows the registration of a signed Workplace Based Learning Programme Agreement between the intern, the employer and MQA, and a monitoring visit by MQA. Later payments depend on progress reports or payslips and further checks.
MQA’s internship page lists what the grant must cover: training, the intern’s stipend, travel, accommodation and medical cover, Unemployment Insurance Fund contributions, protective clothing and short courses. If an internship ends early the employer repays the months in which no training took place, unless the intern left because the company gave them a permanent job.
What an MQA-funded intern is paid each month
The 2026/27 funding policy sets the learner allowance at a minimum of R9,000 per month. MQA’s internship page still shows an older table that ties the amount to whether the company houses and feeds the intern:
| Option on MQA’s internship page | Basic allowance | Transport | Total | With R1,000 medical allowance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company does not provide accommodation and meals | R7,000 | R1,000 | R8,000 | R9,000 |
| Company provides accommodation and meals | R5,500 | R1,000 | R6,500 | R7,500 |
For medical cover, the host company either gives the intern access to its own medical facilities or medical aid, buys a separate policy costing at least R1,000 a month, or pays an intern who already has medical aid an extra R1,000. Where the page and the policy differ, the policy for the current year is the newer document; ask the host company what it pays before you sign.
Scarce disciplines in the Sector Skills Plan
MQA funds internships in the scarce-skills disciplines identified in its Sector Skills Plan:
- Mining Engineering, Mining Surveying, Geology and Metallurgical Engineering;
- Mechanical, Industrial and Electrical (heavy current) Engineering, and Electro-Mechanical Engineering or instrumentation mechanician;
- Chemical Engineering (mineral processing) and Analytical Chemistry;
- Environmental Health and Management, Occupational Health and Safety, and Occupational Hygiene;
- Jewellery Design and Manufacturing and related qualifications.
Companies may also spend up to 20% of their internship grant on graduates with non-core qualifications, so a mine can host some graduates from outside the core mining disciplines under the same programme.
Graduates MQA will fund
The programme is aimed at young, unemployed, historically disadvantaged South Africans. MQA only funds an intern who is unemployed and a South African citizen, holds a relevant degree or diploma from a university or university of technology, or an N6 Diploma from a TVET college (the 2026/27 policy also accepts a trade certificate), and has never been on an internship before, whether MQA or company funded. That last rule catches many applicants: if you have already done an internship elsewhere, a company cannot claim MQA funding for you.
Getting placed with a mine or a university
Companies apply to MQA for internship funding in the discretionary grant windows on the MQA OneView online system. For 2026/27 the internship programme was in the first window, which opened on 19 January 2026 and closed on 16 February 2026; the second window, from 27 July to 21 August 2026, was only for NPOs, small businesses and cooperatives. Once a company has an allocation it advertises the intern posts itself, usually on its own careers page, and graduates apply there. Companies in services incidental to mining can host interns, and so can public universities and universities of technology, where the stipend is capped at R9,000 a month.
In practice, watch the vacancy pages of mining houses and contractors in your discipline for “MQA internship” adverts, and check that you meet the never-been-an-intern rule before applying. General enquiries go to MQA on 011 547 2600 or info@mqa.org.za, and the programme rules are on the MQA internships page.
If you are still studying, the MQA bursary is the other half of the pipeline, and MQA can place its own bursars on internships through multi-year agreements with employers. The MQA provider profile covers the SETA’s other programmes, and our mining engineering bursaries list names the companies that fund study in the field.
FAQs
About MQA
Sector Education and Training Authority (mining and minerals)
The Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA) coordinates skills development and training for South Africa's mining and minerals sector. The MQA pays for learnerships, bursaries and skills programmes, and the MQA's stated goal is a safe and skilled mining workforce.…
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