Komatsu South Africa (Pty) Ltd

Komatsu, the Japanese heavy equipment manufacturer, supplies and services mining, construction and forestry machines in South Africa. Komatsu employs more than 1 600 people across Southern Africa, and Komatsu presents its jobs as long-term careers with training and personal development.

Registered name

Komatsu South Africa (Pty) Ltd

Type

Private company (mining and construction equipment)

Fields funded

STEM and trade qualifications

Website

komatsu.com

What Komatsu looks for in people

Komatsu’s careers page describes the kind of person Komatsu wants. Komatsu looks for people committed to quality, who recognise and focus on their customers, and who commit to digging deep to discover why problems occur. Komatsu adds that everyone has a voice, and that decisions are made together.

Komatsu’s recent articles show where the industry is heading, including one on how teleoperation, controlling machines remotely, is changing work in heavy industry. Engineering and technical students interested in automation have a clear link to that trend.

A bursary run through CareerWise

CareerWise Empowerment Ventures, a third-party bursary administrator, runs the Komatsu Bursary Programme, handling applications, tracking student progress and reporting on outcomes, according to a provider record checked in August 2026. Komatsu funds STEM and trade students through the programme.

The Komatsu bursary gives particular preference to students from the Gamagara and Tsantsabane municipalities in the Northern Cape, mining areas connected to Komatsu’s South African operations, while remaining open to applicants nationwide. Publicly available information does not describe a binding work-back obligation, so applicants should not assume a Komatsu job follows the bursary.

Timing

No 2027 call had been published when BursariesAfrica checked. The 2026 round closed on 30 November 2025, so expect a similar late-November date.

How to research the Komatsu bursary

Watch CareerWise’s website and Komatsu’s careers page from October. Students from Kathu, Postmasburg and surrounding towns should mention their residence clearly, since the programme gives preference to those communities.

Ask CareerWise which trades qualify, such as diesel mechanics, and whether the bursary includes workplace exposure at Komatsu branches.

Because a third party manages the programme, applicants should also check that any advert they see carries CareerWise’s or Komatsu’s official details. Legitimate bursary programmes never charge application fees, and CareerWise will not ask for payment to process an application. Keep copies of your certified documents, academic results and proof of residence ready before the round opens, since late-November deadlines fall during final examinations.

See our Career Wise bursaries guide for other programmes CareerWise manages.