Key facts
- Status
- Check with the provider
- Provider
- W&RSETA
- Field of study
- Information Technology, Accounting, Commerce
- Study level
- TVET / college, University
- Last checked
- September 2026
No national dates: W&RSETA's Graduate Placement page gives stipend rates but no intake dates, because funded employers advertise their own places.
VerifiedW&RSETA, the skills authority for South Africa’s wholesale and retail sector, pays monthly stipends to graduates and students who do workplace experience at wholesale and retail companies. W&RSETA calls this its Workplace Experience Programme, and its website lists it under Graduate Placement. The SETA does not hire the graduates itself. It funds companies in the sector, and those companies recruit and host the graduates for 12 or 18 months. That means there is no single national application form and no central closing date: each participating employer advertises its own places.
Stipends W&RSETA pays by qualification
The Graduate Placement page sets out four stipend levels. The length of the placement depends on the qualification:
| Participant | Monthly stipend | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Higher education (HET) degree graduate | R5 000 | 12 months |
| HET diploma graduate | R4 500 | 12 months |
| TVET N6 graduate | R4 500 | 12 months |
| TVET N6 intern | R3 000 | 18 months |
The page distinguishes between N6 graduates, who have finished their diploma, and N6 interns, who still need workplace time. The 18-month N6 intern placement is the longest option and pays the lowest stipend. W&RSETA does not say on the page whether host companies add anything to the stipend.
Students who need practical time to finish
The programme is open to people from TVET colleges, universities of technology and universities. W&RSETA names two groups: students who need practical experience to complete their qualification, and graduates who need exposure to a workplace. Either way, the qualification must be related to wholesale and retail. The SETA’s examples are IT, finance, accounting, human resources, marketing, logistics and supply chain, and its wording (“etc.”) shows the list is not closed. W&RSETA does not publish an age limit, a minimum mark or a citizenship rule for this programme on the Graduate Placement page; any such conditions would come from the host employer’s advert.
Applying to the host companies, not the SETA
W&RSETA is explicit that it “does not offer workplace experience or internship programmes to graduates and students directly”. Graduates and students have to apply to wholesale and retail companies when those companies advertise, or contact companies to ask about their opportunities. Sending a CV to W&RSETA itself will not place anyone.
One place to look is the SETA’s own retail careers portal, which has an Internships section with the employer, closing date and application route for each listing. On 29 September 2026 it listed five one-year internships at Matus, a company in the sector, in finance, internal sales, marketing, procurement and warehousing, all closing on 31 December 2026. The portal does not say whether a listed internship is funded through the Workplace Experience Programme, so applicants should ask the employer about the stipend.
The same portal has sections for bursaries and learnerships. Learners still studying can compare the UJ W&RSETA bursary, and school leavers who want a paid route into the big chains can read about retail learnerships at Mr Price, Woolworths and Shoprite. The W&RSETA provider profile gathers the SETA’s other programmes.
No national intake dates
Because the placements run through employers, W&RSETA publishes no opening or closing date for the programme as a whole, and it gives no number of places. Timing depends on when each funded company advertises. The Graduate Placement page is the SETA’s statement of the stipend rates. General questions can go to the W&RSETA switchboard on 012 622 9500; the head office is at Hennops House, Riverside Office Park, 1303 Heuwel Avenue, Centurion.
FAQs
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About W&RSETA
Sector Education and Training Authority (wholesale and retail)
The Wholesale and Retail Sector Education and Training Authority (W&RSETA) was established in 2000 under the Skills Development Act. W&RSETA, a public entity headquartered in Centurion, exists to meet the skills needs of the wholesale and retail sector,…
Read the full W&RSETA profile →- Address
- Riverside Office Park, Hennops House, 1303 Heuwel Avenue, Centurion, 0157
- Phone
- 012 622 9500
- Website
- wrseta.org.za
