Key facts
- Status
- Check with the provider
- Provider
- MTN
- Field of study
- ICT, Computer Science, Data Science, Electrical Engineering, Commerce
- Study level
- University
- Last checked
- September 2026
MTN Group's careers page promotes the Next-Gen Global Graduate Programme, but its Leaply recruitment page had no open MTN listing on 29 September 2026 and the last South African intake listed there closed on 31 January 2020.
VerifiedMTN Group calls its Next-Gen Global Graduate Programme its “marquee” graduate scheme. It takes top graduates in the countries where MTN operates and places them in full-time jobs at the local MTN company, with training that runs across the group’s footprint in Africa and the Middle East. The MTN Group careers page invites applications, but the recruitment platform it links to had no open MTN listing when checked on 29 September 2026, and MTN has not published dates for a South African intake.
Four entry criteria on MTN’s careers page
The Join our Y’ello Family page sets these criteria:
- High-achieving students looking for employment in future skills.
- An average academic score of 70% or above.
- Aged 20 to 27.
- From a target country where MTN operates. South Africa is one of those countries, and MTN’s head office is in Johannesburg.
The individual country adverts have not always matched these numbers. MTN’s 2026 listing for South Sudan asked for an aggregate of at least 65% and described the target group as aged 20 to 26. Anyone applying should check the country advert they apply through.
A job at MTN plus the MTN Academy
MTN’s 2026 programme description says graduates are employed full-time by an MTN operating company and placed in a “strategically aligned role”. The on-the-job part includes job rotation, working with the local executive committee, mentoring and coaching. The formal part runs through the MTN Academy, with modules at MTN’s three regional learning centres in Southern, Northern and Western Africa and a mix of immersive and digital learning.
The careers page lists four benefits: an international exchange or rotation, mentorship and coaching, on-the-ground training, and an accelerated career path. MTN does not publish the graduate salary or the length of the programme.
In 2025 a team of MTN South Africa graduates, Lungelo Gwala, Senam Tsormetsri, Ziyanda Thomas and Koketso Kekana, was among only two African teams chosen to present at the UN Global Compact Leaders’ Summit in New York. MTN reported that their AI-powered tool for protecting children online won top honours in the UN Global Compact’s SDG Innovation Accelerator.
What the last South African advert asked for
MTN runs its graduate recruitment on the Leaply platform, which the careers page’s Apply Now button opens. The most recent South African round listed there was the RSA 2020 intake. It opened on 23 December 2019, closed on 31 January 2020, and planned for 40 graduates starting in April 2020 at MTN’s Fairland office in Randburg. That advert required:
- The right to work in South Africa and age under 27.
- A qualification at NQF level 7 or higher, completed by 31 March 2020, with an aggregate of at least 65%.
- A degree in one of these disciplines: actuarial science, business and management, computer science, data science, electrical and electronic engineering, forensic science, industrial engineering, information systems, information technology, law, marketing, mathematics, mechanical engineering, psychology, risk management, statistics or supply chain management.
The listing also named benefits for that intake, including medical aid, a pension scheme, a laptop or tablet, a free or subsidised phone, and performance rewards. These details come from the 2020 advert, and MTN has not said whether they still apply.
Other countries have recruited more recently
Leaply shows later rounds for other MTN markets. The Nigeria 2026 intake ran from October to November 2025, Rwanda’s from late January to mid-February 2026, and South Sudan’s from late January to 20 March 2026. Leaply lists no South African round after the 2020 intake, and MTN has not said when South Africa will next recruit.
MTN’s other routes for young South Africans
MTN reported that during 2025 it supported 492 learnerships, graduate programmes and targeted skills interventions in South Africa, mostly in digital and technical skills. For funding while still at university, MTN runs a separate bursary scheme, and the MTN provider profile brings together MTN’s other programmes. Telecommunications graduates can also compare the Vodacom profile.
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About MTN
Private company (telecommunications, MTN Group subsidiary)
MTN South Africa is one of the country's largest telecommunications companies, providing mobile network, data and digital services to more than 30 million customers in South Africa, according to a provider record checked in August 2026. MTN South…
Read the full MTN profile →- Address
- MTN Innovation Centre, 216 14th Avenue, Fairland, Randburg, 2195
- Phone
- +27 11 912 3000
- Website
- mtn.co.za