Mr Price Graduate and Student Work Programmes

Written by Thabo MokoenaSenior Education Editor

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

Mr Price Group, the Durban-headquartered retailer behind Mr Price, Mr Price Home, Sheet Street, Miladys, Yuppiechef and Mr Price Money, runs three early-career routes into its head office: a short Summer Vac Programme for second-year students, a paid Workplace Experience Programme (WEP) for third-year and final-year students, and graduate entry into Buying and Planning. All three are based in Durban and focus on merchandise buying and planning, the part of the business that picks ranges and manages stock. The group’s store learnerships and the Mr Price Foundation’s youth programme are a separate track, covered on our retail learnerships page.

At the end of September 2026 the graduate route was open in a new form: an expression-of-interest “Talent Club” for trainee buyer and planner roles, listed until 29 November 2026. Mr Price has not published dates for the next Summer Vac Programme or WEP.

Summer Vac Programme for second-year students

This is the shortest of the three, lasting two to three days, run partly online and partly at the Durban head office. It introduces second-year students to Buying and Planning, which Mr Price describes as the place where creativity meets strategy and trends become products. Mr Price gives no pay details, entry requirements or application window for it on its careers page.

Workplace Experience Programme in the June/July vacation

The WEP is a paid, three-week placement at the Durban head office during the June/July university vacation, open to students in their third or final year. Mr Price presents it as hands-on retail experience and a way to see how the company works before choosing where to apply after graduating. The careers page does not give the pay rate, the number of places or when applications open; those appear in the advert on the group’s jobs portal when a round is recruited.

Graduate entry through the trainee buyer and planner Talent Club

Mr Price recruits graduates straight into entry-level Buying and Planning roles, and many of those roles come with structured development over the first 12 to 18 months: on-the-job learning, training and mentorship. The current intake route, posted on 29 September 2026, is a Merchandise Trainee Talent Club. Applicants state whether they are most interested in becoming a Trainee Buyer, Trainee Merchandise Planner or Trainee Location Planner. Mr Price says this is a talent pool rather than a live vacancy, and suitable candidates may be contacted when positions come up.

Trainees support buying or planning teams with day-to-day category work, learn product ranges and customer trends, help analyse sales, stock, margin and product performance, and assist with range reviews, product selection, demand forecasting and stock flow. The advert asks for an interest in retail and commercial results, comfort with numbers and detail, and good communication and organisation. Applicants apply with a CV and a note on their education, experience and career interests.

Separate graduate posts also appear from time to time. A Sustainability Graduate role at head office, for a BSc in Environmental Science or a related field, was advertised in September 2026 with a closing date of 1 October 2026.

Five stages on the Mr Price jobs portal

All three programmes and the Talent Club are advertised on the Mr Price Group jobs portal. The group sets out its process as application, screening, interview, risk checks and offer. Students who want to hear about the next WEP or Summer Vac round can join the group’s talent community on the same system. For study funding in the commercial fields the planning track asks for, see the commerce bursaries hub.

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