Sanlam Learnerships and Data, AI and Engineering Academy

Written by Thabo MokoenaSenior Education Editor

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

Sanlam has two entry points for young people who do not hold one of its bursaries. The Data, AI and Engineering Academy takes recent graduates straight into permanent jobs in Sanlam Group Technology, while the learnerships are aimed at unemployed matriculants and at people living with disabilities. Both are advertised on the same Sanlam careers portal, but they recruit at different times and ask for very different qualifications. The academy intake for 2027 is open now and closes on 2 October 2026; no learnership is advertised at the moment.

Data, AI and Engineering Academy

The academy, previously called the Sanlam Digital and Data Academy, is a 13-month accelerated development programme inside Sanlam Group Technology and Sanlam Analytics. Its most unusual feature is the contract: Sanlam’s FAQ says successful graduates are appointed permanently from the start, with market-related benefits, rather than on a fixed-term graduate contract. The 2027 intake starts work in 2027.

Two tracks to choose from

• Data and AI: data management, data engineering and AI-ready data products, with machine learning, predictive analytics and agentic AI. Sanlam names Data Analyst, Data Scientist, Data Engineer and AI/ML engineer as the career paths.
• Software Engineering and AI: cloud-native architecture, distributed systems, application integration and agentic engineering, leading to roles such as Software Engineer, DevOps Engineer, Integration Specialist or Architect.

During the 13 months graduates rotate through different IT and business teams, get technical and competency-based training, are coached by specialists in the technology and analytics teams, and take part in hackathons and learning days such as the SGT data day. The job advert describes the environment they will work in: a full move to AWS cloud, data platforms such as Snowflake and dbt, and AI platforms including Bedrock.

Degrees Sanlam accepts, and the 12-month experience limit

Applicants must already hold a degree or complete one by the end of 2026. The advert lists BCom, BSc or BTech degrees in Information Technology, Computer Science, Data Science, Data Analytics, Business Intelligence, Statistics, Mathematics, Finance or Actuarial Science, and industrial, electrical, chemical, civil or mechanical engineering, including the BEng. Final-year students and recent graduates are welcome; anyone with more than 12 months of post-university professional work is not. Work-integrated learning done as part of a qualification does not count towards those 12 months.

Sanlam says its curriculum covers what graduates need, but a basic grasp of Python, Java, .NET or SQL, of data analysis and visualisation, or of business process analysis helps. Applications are online only, through the academy advert on Sanlam’s careers portal, posted on 25 September 2026 for Bellville. Shortlisting starts only after the closing date, and Sanlam’s employment equity plan is considered in selection.

Sanlam learnerships

Sanlam describes its learnerships as a way to close skills gaps and support transformation in financial services. The programmes are linked to INSETA, the insurance sector’s SETA, and to the Further Education and Training Certificate in Long-term Insurance (SAQA ID 49649): anyone who has already completed that qualification cannot apply. Sanlam’s learnership page lists two streams.

Unemployed youth, including rural learners

• South African citizens aged 18 to 35 who are unemployed;
• for the rural unemployed learnership, the learner must live in an area the municipality classifies as rural;
• no learner may be on two INSETA-funded programmes at once, unless the second is an INSETA-initiated employability programme;
• anyone who left an INSETA-funded programme before finishing it is excluded unless the employer makes a special case, which INSETA decides.

People living with disabilities

This stream asks for South African citizenship, a valid Matric certificate with English and another South African language, no previous completion of SAQA ID 49649, and that the applicant is currently neither employed nor studying.

Sanlam tells applicants to look for learnerships under current vacancies each year, where the general rule is again a Matric with English and a second South African language and an age of 18 to 35. Sanlam does not publish stipend amounts, durations or an intake month for the learnerships. On 29 September 2026 a search of the Sanlam careers portal for “learnership” returned no open positions.

Other Sanlam student funding is listed on the Sanlam provider profile. Graduates who would rather keep studying can compare data science bursaries, and insurance-sector funding from the SETA itself is covered on the INSETA bursary page.

FAQs