Tirisano Construction Fund

About the Tirisano Construction Fund

The Tirisano Construction Fund is a development trust with an unusual origin. It was created under the Voluntary Rebuilding Programme, a settlement signed in October 2016 between government and seven large listed construction firms: Aveng, Basil Read, Group Five, Murray & Roberts, Raubex, Stefanutti Stocks and WBHO. The companies had admitted to collusion and bid-rigging in a 2013 Competition Commission settlement. They agreed to contribute a combined R1.5 billion over 12 years toward transformation and development in the construction industry.

The Industrial Development Corporation, a state development finance institution, administers the Fund. It publishes annual reports and application guidelines on the IDC website.

How the Fund supports students

The Fund's main programmes support emerging and black-owned contractors, basic education infrastructure and skills development. Within the skills work, it runs an external bursary scheme for students in the built environment. In effect, money raised from a past competition case now helps train people who will build and manage the country's infrastructure. Recent adverts name a wide range of fields. Examples include Civil, Electrical, Mechanical and Chemical Engineering. The list also covers Architecture, Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, Land Surveying, Geomatics, Property Valuation and Urban and Regional Planning. Building sciences and construction studies appear too. This breadth makes the bursary useful for students in many parts of the construction value chain, not only in engineering.

What to know before applying

Recent adverts describe the following criteria. Applicants should be South African citizens under 35. They should have a Matric with a minimum APS of 42, be studying full-time at a recognised South African institution and hold an overall average of at least 65%. Household income has been capped at R650,000 a year. These details have changed in the past, so treat them as a guide only and confirm them in the current advert.

Application details, closing dates and the exact value of the award are published for each cycle. Look for them on the Tirisano page of the IDC website at idc.co.za. Only the official advert can tell you what the bursary pays for in a given year. Public sources do not confirm any work-back condition, so ask about this before you accept an offer.

Prepare your documents early. You will probably need certified copies of your ID, your Matric certificate, academic records, proof of registration and proof of household income. Keep copies of everything you submit, and read the current advert and any guidelines on the IDC page before you start. Finally, use the official IDC page for forms, and be careful with websites that ask you for money in return for help with an application.