Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA)

The Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA) coordinates skills development and training for South Africa’s mining and minerals sector. The MQA pays for learnerships, bursaries and skills programmes, and the MQA’s stated goal is a safe and skilled mining workforce. The MQA works from Parktown in Johannesburg and reports to the Department of Higher Education and Training.

Registered name

Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA)

Type

Sector Education and Training Authority (mining and minerals)

Fields funded

Mining-related university and TVET qualifications, learnerships and skills programmes

Website

mqa.org.za

Email

info@mqa.org.za

Phone

011 547 2600

Two rounds: university and TVET

The MQA does not run one bursary for everyone. For 2026 study, the MQA’s university bursary round closed on 31 July 2025, and the MQA opened a separate round for TVET college students in October 2025. Students at a university and students at a TVET college therefore watch different adverts, months apart.

Bursary listings report the 2027 university round closing on 22 September 2026. BursariesAfrica could not confirm that date on the MQA’s own adverts page, so check it there before relying on it.

Online applications only

The MQA publishes calls on its adverts page and accepts applications only through its online system. Printed forms, emails and applications delivered by hand to the Parktown offices do not count. That rule protects applicants from agents who offer to submit forms for a fee, since there is nothing an agent can do that the online system does not.

What the MQA’s website shows about the organisation

The MQA’s website describes an organisation built around operational projects, governance and support units. The Operational Projects Unit runs the programmes that reach learners and students, while corporate services, human resources and facilities units support them. The site still carries some outdated notices, which is a good reason to read the date on any MQA advert before acting on it.

Researching an MQA bursary

Before applying, confirm three things on mqa.org.za: whether the round you are looking at is for universities or TVET colleges, whether your qualification appears on that year’s list of mining-related fields, and the closing time on the final day. Our page on how much the MQA bursary pays has not been refreshed for 2027, so ask the MQA directly about the current value of the award.

Mining companies often prefer bursars who already hold MQA funding or learnership experience, so students serious about mining should apply to the MQA and to individual mining houses in the same year.

See our mining engineering bursaries page for mining company bursaries.