Best Accredited Private TVET Colleges In South Africa

Strictly speaking, “TVET college” refers to the 50 public colleges. Private institutions are private colleges or private skills development providers. No official body ranks them, so rather than trusting a “best” list, check whether a private college is legally registered and accredited for the qualification you want.

The three checks

Check	Where to check	What it tells you
Registered with DHET	The Department of Higher Education and Training’s register of private colleges or private higher education institutions	The college may legally offer qualifications
Accredited for the qualification	The QCTO for occupational qualifications, Umalusi for NC(V)-type and school-level qualifications, or the CHE for higher education	The certificate will be recognised
Qualification on the NQF	SAQA’s qualification search	The qualification exists and at which level

Private vs public colleges

	Public TVET college	Private college
Fees	Low and subsidised	Higher, set by the college
NSFAS	Yes, for eligible students	No
Class sizes and flexibility	Larger classes, fixed intakes	Often smaller classes and more intakes
Programmes	NC(V), occupational, trades	Business, IT, creative and occupational programmes

Warning signs

• Promises of a qualification in weeks with little study.
• Registration numbers you cannot find on official registers.
• Pressure to pay a large deposit before you see a contract.
• Claims that NSFAS funds the college.

Read our checks on specific colleges: Richfield, Rosebank College and Johannesburg City College. See also which colleges are DHET-registered.

Frequently asked questions