SIOC Community Development Trust (SIOC-cdt)

About the SIOC Community Development Trust

The Sishen Iron Ore Company Community Development Trust, or SIOC-CDT, was created in 2006. Kumba Iron Ore set it up to support communities that live near its mining operations. The trust works from an office park in Kathu in the Northern Cape and also has a hub in Thabazimbi, Limpopo.

It serves five local municipalities: Gamagara, Ga-Segonyana, Joe Morolong and Tsantsabane in the Northern Cape, plus Thabazimbi in Limpopo. Many of these areas are among the least developed in the country. The trust reports that it has invested more than R1 billion in community projects since it started. Its motto is that it defines itself through actions, not words.

How the trust supports students

Education, training and skills development is one of the trust's main focus areas. Others are enterprise development, health and wellness, and social welfare. The bursary programme sits inside the education work and funds study after Matric. The trust has reported supporting more than 550 students from its beneficiary communities.

The trust is not a single-company hiring scheme. It exists for community upliftment, so the bursary is open to many fields. Published priority areas include agriculture, business and economics, education, engineering and science, health sciences, information technology, law and tourism. Funding has been described as covering registration and tuition fees, accommodation, prescribed study material, a laptop and a monthly stipend. Assistive devices are available for students with disabilities.

The trust also runs other programmes that help young people, such as a youth enterprise accelerator and academic preparation work. Together they show a wider goal. The aim is to prepare people from these communities for study, work or business, not only to pay fees. A bursary is one part of that larger plan, and it can lead into other forms of support.

What to know before applying

Recent calls set out clear rules. Applicants had to be South African citizens under 35 who live in, or come from, one of the five beneficiary municipalities. You needed to be in Matric or have finished it, and to hold an offer, or provisional offer, at a public university, university of technology or TVET college. A minimum average of 65% and a household income below R600,000 a year also applied.

You can apply online, which the trust prefers, or submit a form by email, post or hand delivery to the Kathu office or the Thabazimbi hub. Certified copies of your ID, results, proof of acceptance and household income documents must not be older than three months. Incomplete applications are disqualified. Shortlisted candidates are called for interviews, and if you hear nothing you should treat the application as unsuccessful.

Public information does not describe a work-back obligation. Closing dates and rules can change, so confirm the current terms on the official website before you apply.