The National Skills Fund has approved R95.9 million for a project that will train 1,020 young people in KwaZulu-Natal, SAnews reported on 31 October 2026.
The Department of Higher Education and Training approved the money, according to SAnews, and the funding runs over 43 months. Fuze Business Initiative runs the project, which was launched at Obiri Airport in Pietermaritzburg this week.
The project has two parts. Twenty apprentices follow a three-year aircraft maintenance engineering course in uMgungundlovu. Another 1,000 learners study for a Level 3 wheel balancer qualification on the National Qualifications Framework, with 300 in Newcastle, 200 in Mooi River and 500 in Mpumza, Pietermaritzburg. The recruited wheel balancer learners began training in August and receive a monthly stipend, a toolkit and protective equipment.
Spread across all 1,020 learners, the budget works out at about R94,000 each. The report does not say how much goes to the provider’s fee, to stipends or to equipment.
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister Nomusa Dube-Ncube told the launch that Fuze Business Initiative will not receive all of its management fee until agreed results are delivered. She said the department would measure the project on “value for money: on how many learners complete, how many qualify, and how many find work or start enterprises”.
Source: Department of Higher Education and Training, via SAnews, 31 October 2026. Chart: Rand Desk
The budget also provides for registering cooperatives. “We are not only training you to be employed,” Dube-Ncube said. “We are expecting some of you to employ others.”
The department listed newer occupations the training is meant to lead towards: electric and hybrid vehicles, drone maintenance, smart manufacturing, AI-assisted diagnostics and green hydrogen. Dube-Ncube also said South African-trained artisans and aircraft maintenance engineers could find work elsewhere in Africa as demand for specialised skills grows.
The project forms part of broader department targets. In 2026/27 the department wants more than 520,000 enrolments at TVET colleges, among them 91,800 workplace learning places and 22,000 artisan certifications. A separate National Skills Fund programme, the Artisan Massification Programme, carries R2.39 billion and is meant to produce over 10,000 artisans.
Dube-Ncube also asked providers and host employers to set clear policies and reporting channels on gender-based violence and harassment. The Gender-Based Violence Command Centre takes calls day and night on 0800 428 428.
Other state spending on skills and jobs is covered elsewhere on the site. The land reform department launched a R2 billion rural support programme this week, and applications for NSFAS funding for 2027 closed on 31 October. The report gives no date for when the first learners will qualify.
