Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA)

The Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA) coordinates skills development for the energy and water sectors, covering industries from electricity generation and renewable energy to water services. EWSETA works from Johannesburg and reports to the Department of Higher Education and Training.

Registered name

Energy and Water Sector Education and Training Authority (EWSETA)

Type

Sector Education and Training Authority (energy and water)

Fields funded

Qualifications relevant to electricity, renewable energy, gas and water services

Website

ewseta.org.za

Email

bursaries@ewseta.org.za

Phone

+27 11 274 4700

How EWSETA decides what to fund

EWSETA funds learning programmes according to the priorities in its Sector Skills Plan, which EWSETA reviews every year. The plan draws on research, and EWSETA says that addressing South Africa’s triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment needs coordinated effort backed by quality research.

Employers interact with EWSETA through two kinds of grants. Levy-paying employers in energy and water whose workplace skills plans and annual training reports have been approved qualify for Mandatory Grants. Discretionary Grants, which pay for projects such as bursaries and learnerships, require board approval and a strict assessment of applications received during an approved window.

EWSETA bursaries

EWSETA funds bursaries alongside learnerships and internships. BursariesAfrica’s earlier guide notes that applicants must be accepted for, or enrolled at, a recognised university, university of technology or TVET college, in a qualification relevant to the energy and water sectors. That opens EWSETA funding to TVET students as well as university students.

Our EWSETA bursary guide has not been refreshed with 2027 dates, so treat it as background and check the SETA’s current calls.

How to research EWSETA funding

Email EWSETA’s bursaries address and ask whether a bursary window is open or planned, which qualifications it will fund and whether EWSETA funds students directly or through partner institutions. Read the latest Sector Skills Plan on EWSETA’s website to see which occupations EWSETA considers scarce, such as renewable energy technicians or water process controllers.

Ask your institution’s financial aid office whether it administers EWSETA funding, because SETAs often channel bursaries through universities and colleges. Students who want practical training should ask about EWSETA-funded learnerships as well.

EWSETA posts featured news and funding notices on its homepage throughout the year, so check it every few weeks rather than relying on one visit.

See our electrical engineering bursaries page for other energy funders.