Sappi

About Sappi

Sappi is a global company that makes products from wood fibre, including dissolving wood pulp, paper and packaging materials. Its head office is at 108 Oxford Road in Rosebank, Johannesburg. The company was formed in South Africa in 1936 to supply locally made paper, and it has grown into one of the country's best-known industrial names.

In Southern Africa, Sappi runs four mills. Tugela and Saiccor are in KwaZulu-Natal, with Saiccor about 50 km south of Durban. Ngodwana is in Mpumalanga. Stanger, on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast, is unusual because it uses sugar cane waste (bagasse) as its main raw material. Sappi also owns roughly 369,000 hectares of land in South Africa, and about a third of that area is unplanted and managed for nature conservation.

How Sappi supports students

A business of this size needs skilled people to keep its mills and plantations running. For that reason, Sappi offers an undergraduate bursary for engineering and forestry students. Funded fields include chemical, civil, electrical, industrial, mechanical and mechatronics engineering, as well as forestry and wood science. Engineers and foresters are hard to find in South Africa, so the programme helps Sappi build its own supply of talent.

The bursary can cover tuition, prescribed books, accommodation and a living allowance. The value of the award depends on the student's household income. In addition, bursars may do paid vacation work in July and December. This gives them hands-on time at a mill or plantation long before they graduate. Successful bursars can then move into Sappi's Engineer-in-Training programme once they qualify.

It also helps to understand the work behind the bursary. Dissolving wood pulp from mills such as Saiccor and Ngodwana is used to make textile fibres, while Stanger turns out office paper and tissue. Engineers usually work inside the mills, whereas foresters spend much of their time out on the plantations. Forestry and wood science is a narrow field, so graduates with those skills are in real demand. Because the size of your award depends on household income, gather accurate proof of income early.

What to know before applying

Sappi's published criteria are fairly specific. Applicants must be South African citizens aged between 17 and 25 who are in matric or have already finished it. Sappi asks for at least 70% in Mathematics (not Mathematical Literacy), 70% in Physical Science and 60% in English. You must also plan to study full-time at a recognised, accredited South African university.

Sappi does not publicly describe a fixed work-back period, but the vacation work and Engineer-in-Training route clearly lead towards employment with the company. Even so, you should read your bursary contract carefully before you sign it. Closing dates and exact requirements change from year to year, so check the official Sappi website for the current intake before you apply.