Public Works and Infrastructure Minister, Patricia de Lille, will on Thursday hand over bursaries to matriculants, who have enrolled to study various built environment courses at universities across the country, for the 2023 academic year.
The awarding of the bursaries forms part of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure’s Skills Pipeline Programme. This is part of government’s efforts to bring more skilled professionals into the public sector, specifically the built environment.
As part of building a capable and ethical State, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) annually awards bursaries to pupils in need of financial assistance, who display excellence and have been accepted for courses in the built environment for their tertiary education.
The DPWI has a bursary programme linked to the overall Skills Pipeline project, where pupils are encouraged at school level to consider careers in the built environment.
Another key aim of the DPWI Bursary Programme is to remove financial barriers by providing funding to disadvantaged students to access built environment qualifications.
The programme further aims to increase the number of built environment professionals from previously disadvantage groups to represent the demographics of the country and ensure transformation of the built environment sector.
The programme also serves as a feeder to the department’s Internship and Young Professionals Programme, which contributes to the pool of qualified built environment professionals serving the State in the delivery of infrastructure projects.
The bursary accommodates the following study areas: Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Marine Engineering, Property Studies / Real Estate, Actuarial Science, Quantity Surveying, Construction Project Management, Landscape Architecture, Architecture and Town and Regional Planning.
The bursary covers tuition, accommodation, meals, textbooks, projects, compulsory study resources and a monthly allowance.
Over the past nine years, the DPWI has awarded bursaries to 452 students since the programme started in 2014, an investment of R160 million.
This year, De Lille will hand over bursaries to more than 70 students who recently matriculated and have been accepted to study at various universities.
Many of the students have achieved excellent results in the recent matric exams, many of them achieving distinctions in Maths and Physics.
De Lille will hand over bursary award certificates to the students at a ceremony where previous bursary beneficiaries will also give testimonials on how these bursaries have assisted them to enter and thrive in careers in the built environment. – SAnews.gov.za
