The Gibela Rail Transport Consortium is calling for applications for 200 bursaries in engineering, manufacturing, computer science, supply chain and logistics, and various trade fields – for both universities and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions – for 2022.

Bursary applicants must be South African citizens with a barcoded identity document; enrolled or intending to enrol at a South African TVET institution (current N3/N4 candidates are encouraged to apply); enrolled or intending to enrol at a South African university or university of technology (current first- and second-year candidates are encouraged to apply); be able to demonstrate potential for academic success; and must be in need of financial assistance.

Gibela’s bursaries include full tuition and a book allowance, are granted for one year and are renewable on a yearly basis based on academic performance.

Gibela on November 23 said it was aiming to revitalise South Africa’s railway industry by manufacturing state-of-the-art commuter trains in the country, and reiterated its commitment to upskilling and training South Africans to be able to participate in this industry in South Africa.

“Gibela is very conscious of uplifting the communities in which it operates, as well as having a broader social impact across South Africa in terms of education, skills development, local content production and ultimately economic empowerment. This is in addition to its core function of improving commuters’ experience through its trains,” the consortium said.

According to a report by the World Bank, titled ‘Steering Tertiary Education: Towards Resilient Systems that Deliver for All’, tertiary education is vital for the development of human capital and innovation.

In the report, it was noted that “strategic and effective investments in tertiary education can serve every country – from the poorest to the richest – by developing its talent and leadership pool, generating and applying knowledge to local and global challenges, and participating in the global knowledge economy”.

The report then further highlighted the importance of tertiary education sectors, and engineers, technicians and managers are among the professions mentioned as being key players in public and private sector development. 

Taking this into account, Gibela corporate services and traction motors operation executive Dr Buyiswa Mncono-Liwani said quality education would “unlock the potential of South Africa’s future and our ability to effectively grow our economy”.

The bursaries that Gibela offers each year for tertiary study at universities, universities of technology and TVET institutions are an important part of the consortium’s broader commitment to education and skills development, he noted.

“Gibela is invested in educational initiatives in South Africa, from early childhood development and school programmes with a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics subjects, right through to tertiary education, internships and incubators.

“In addition, with our focus on local content development, we invest in upskilling professionals to build trains in South Africa and ensure they have the skills to continue developing their careers, beyond our contract term with the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).”

Gibela currently has a contract to manufacture 600 trains for PRASA’s Metrorail business.

The bursary applications close on February 15, and interested applicants can send a short CV, a certified copy of their academic records and a certified copy of their South African identity document to gibelabursaries@communityrail.co.za or fax these to 086 246 2666.

Gibela will respond only to applicants who make it through the first round of assessments, it said, noting that applicants who have not been contacted by March 26 should consider their applications unsuccessful.