Pepkor Trainee Accountant Programme and CA Bursary

Written by Thabo MokoenaSenior Education Editor

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

Pepkor Holdings, the retail group behind brands such as PEP and Ackermans, trains chartered accountants in-house. Its Trainee Accountant programme is a three-year SAICA training contract at the Pepkor Corporate Centre in Cape Town, and the group pairs it with a bursary for students still completing their postgraduate accounting year. Pepkor posted the call for the intake that starts in February 2027 on 26 March 2026. The posting gives no closing date and was still live on 27 September 2026.

Three years inside a retail group

Trainees do the practical training that SAICA requires before a graduate can qualify as a CA(SA), but in a listed retailer rather than an audit firm. Pepkor’s careers page describes the programme as exposure to many parts of the business, rotations through different business units and the chance to learn from specialists across the group. Pepkor says it employs more than 100 chartered accountants across its divisions, and the posting describes a group that spans finance, logistics, retail and corporate operations.

According to the 2027 posting, trainees get:

• on-the-job training on real business problems in several divisions from the first day;
• mentoring by senior professionals and leaders in the group, with formal development plans, regular feedback and performance tracking;
• paid study leave, academic support, and help with SAICA board courses and exam fees, including preparation for the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC);
• project work, and access to the group’s employee wellness programme.

The careers page adds remuneration and benefits, study-related benefits and a relocation allowance. Pepkor does not publish the trainee salary. It presents the programme as a path to permanent jobs in the group once the three years are done, but does not promise one.

The bursary for PGDA and CTA students

Students who are about to start or are busy with a Postgraduate Diploma in Accountancy (PGDA) or the Certificate in the Theory of Accounting (CTA) can apply for a Pepkor bursary in the same round. The posting sets two conditions besides South African citizenship: an academic average above 60%, and study towards the PGDA or CTA. The posting does not state what the bursary pays. It is tied to the training contract: an earlier Pepkor CA bursary advert said bursary holders join the CA programme once they finish their studies.

Who Pepkor is looking for

Training contract applicants must be South African citizens with a strong academic record who have completed, or are completing, a BCom Honours from an accredited institution, a PGDA or the CTA. The posting describes the ideal trainee as entrepreneurial, curious about how businesses grow, interested in industries from retail to fintech, self-driven within the SAICA framework, and comfortable with data analytics and financial technology.

Emailing caprogramme@pepkor.co.za

Pepkor asks applicants for the training contract and the bursary to email these documents to caprogramme@pepkor.co.za:

1. a CV;
2. a copy of the ID;
3. a full academic transcript;
4. the matric certificate;
5. a short rationale explaining why you are interested in Pepkor.

The Pepkor trainee accountant posting also has an online form that takes a cover letter and CV. Because there is no published closing date, the posting could be withdrawn once places for February 2027 are filled, so apply soon if you want to start in 2027. Pepkor’s careers page carries the general description of the programme.

For bursaries earlier in the CA route, see our chartered accountant bursaries and accounting bursaries lists, and the SAICA provider profile.

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