Learnerships are meant to provide skills development opportunities while giving learners a foot in the door of the working world. In theory, it’s a win-win: businesses upskill potential employees while learners gain valuable work experience and a qualification. But in reality, it’s a lot more complicated—especially when it comes to stipends.
Stipends are a crucial part of learnerships. For many learners, they’re the only income they have while studying and working, and often, they’re supporting families at home too. But are stipends actually helping, or are they creating more problems than they solve?
The Business Perspective: Can Companies Afford It?
For companies, stipends can be a major financial burden. While learnerships come with tax incentives and BBBEE scorecard benefits, businesses still need to budget for stipends—often for a full year. For small businesses, in particular, this cost can be a dealbreaker.
There are some funding options, like discretionary grants from SETAs, but these are not guaranteed and are usually delayed. The Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) provides some relief by reducing PAYE costs for businesses that hire young, inexperienced workers. The Section 12H tax incentive allows businesses to claim a tax deduction per learner, but there’s a catch: it’s not a reimbursement, and it can only be accessed once the company submits its tax return. That means businesses have to carry the cost upfront, which isn’t feasible for everyone.
The Learner Perspective: Is It Enough to Survive?
Originally, stipends were only meant to cover the cost of getting to and from work—not to sustain learners entirely. But in practice, many rely on their stipends for food, rent, and to support their families. With the cost of transport, food, and living expenses rising, stipends often fall short. Some learners are forced to leave their programmes for better-paying opportunities—not because they lack commitment, but because they simply can’t afford to stay.
Another major issue is delayed payments. Legally, there should be no delays in paying stipends because learners are considered employees under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. However, when employers rely on SETA discretionary grants to fund stipends, they often wait months for reimbursement. Some businesses refuse to pay learners until they receive funding, which is not allowed—but it happens all the time, leaving learners in financial distress.
Impact of the 2025 Minimum Wage Increase on Learnership Stipends
As of 1 March 2025, South Africa’s national minimum wage has increased from R27.58 to R28.79 per hour—a 4.38% rise. That means a full-time worker earning minimum wage now makes around R5,030 per month (based on a 22-day work month with 8-hour days). While this increase is meant to improve workers’ livelihoods, it raises an important question: are learnership stipends legally allowed to be lower than minimum wage?
Since learners are classified as employees under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, it could be argued that their stipends should align with minimum wage laws. However, learnership agreements often fall under different regulations, allowing stipends to be lower. This grey area needs urgent clarity, as it directly impacts learner retention and the overall success of learnership programmes.
If stipends are set too low, learners may struggle to cover their costs, leading to higher dropout rates. Businesses, on the other hand, must consider the financial impact of increasing stipends. While higher stipends could improve learner retention, they also place a financial strain on companies—especially smaller ones.
Finding the Balance
So, where does this leave us? Stipends are necessary, but their current structure leaves both businesses and learners in a tough spot. Maybe it’s time for a more flexible, sustainable approach—one that takes affordability for businesses into account while ensuring learners can actually complete their programmes without financial hardship.
Tax incentives like Section 12H should be better leveraged to ensure stipends are paid on time, and businesses should be encouraged to provide additional support. Whether it’s transport allowances, meal stipends, or partnerships with organisations that offer financial assistance, there are ways to ease the burden.
At the end of the day, learnerships should be a stepping stone, not a stumbling block. The question isn’t whether stipends should exist—they should. But how they’re structured, funded, and sustained makes all the difference.