Volkswagen Group Africa

About Volkswagen Group Africa

Volkswagen Group Africa, often called VWGA and formerly known as Volkswagen Group South Africa, is the African arm of the Volkswagen group. It builds cars at its plant in Kariega in the Eastern Cape and sells vehicles across South Africa and the rest of the continent. The company also exports vehicles that it builds in South Africa.

A car plant needs engineers, information technology staff, data specialists, accountants and logistics planners. The company therefore offers a bursary to students in those fields.

How VWGA supports students

The VWGA bursary is aimed at South African students who are already in an undergraduate degree. The 2027 listings we reviewed say that applicants should be entering their second, third or fourth year, and that master's and doctoral study is not covered.

The listings describe benefits such as tuition, accommodation, meals, books, vacation work, mentoring and a laptop, and they say that bursars usually work for the company for as long as it funded them. These details come from third-party copies of the advert, so confirm them with the company. You can read more on our Volkswagen Group Africa Bursary page.

Fields listed in the copies include engineering, information technology, data science, finance, accounting and logistics. They vary between listings, so check which fields apply to your degree.

What to know before applying

The company's own application pages were not readable when we researched this profile, so we relied on a university-hosted notice and on third-party copies. They agree on most points. Applicants must be South African citizens by birth, must have completed matric, must be registered at a recognised South African institution, and must not be employed full time.

The listings give a minimum matric average of 70% with a bachelor's pass, and a tertiary average of 65%. They quote a closing time of 28 September 2026 at midday for the 2027 round, which means that round has probably closed. Preference goes to designated groups, in line with the company's employment equity goals, and meeting the minimum does not guarantee an award.

Typical documents include a certified ID, a motivation letter and any funding letter if another bursary or NSFAS already pays for you. Collect them early, and apply only through the company's official channels. Watch for the next round, which usually opens in the second half of the year.

Besides the bursary, the company runs apprenticeships and graduate programmes. Students who do not win funding can still look at vacation work, which gives experience on a modern car plant and helps when you apply for a graduate post.