City awards bursaries to students with a focus on scarce skills
25 March 2026
On 24 March 2025, the City’s Corporate Services Directorate held a ceremony where 30 awardees from communities across Cape Town were granted bursaries to pursue their studies, all within fields which focus on the City’s identified Scarce Skills list.
The City's external financial support (bursaries)awards are intended to provide support to young members of the community who have demonstrated potential to take their studies further. Applicants competed for the bursaries via a competitive process that took into account academic results, interview performance as well as the City's strategic workforce plans.
A total of 30 awards were granted to deserving candidates who will be pursuing their studies in the fields of Engineering; Geo Informatics; Project Management; Architecture; Data Science; Occupational Therapy; Marine Science; Supply Chain Management; Psychology; GIS and Technology as well as Law. The programme aims to fill the scarce skills gap by supporting study in these essential fields.
'Our vision is to create life changing opportunities for young residents who will be the dynamic leaders we will need in our city one day. They will be the much-needed qualified professionals of the future in Cape Town. The City of Cape Town is proud to support these individuals in achieving their career goals. We have all the confidence that each of these recipients will make a success of their studies and pursue fruitful careers in the near future,' said the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services, Alderman Theresa Uys.
Bursaries were awarded to applicants from across Cape Town from areas such as Kraaifontein; Strandfontein; Athlone; Atlantis; Lotus River; Kuils River; Khayelitsha; Grassy Park; Belhar; Somerset West; Strandfontein; Lansdowne; Bo-Kaap; Pinelands; Goodwood; Maitland, Parklands, Langa, Milnerton and Ottery.
Ayabonga Mbinyashe, a 19-year-old from Kraaifontein is one of the bursary recipients. Mbinyashe said that the day he received the call from the City would go down as a dream come true for both himself and his mother who has always supported his dreams and was celebrating with him that day. He said he always believed in his potential, but his desperate need for funding was a heavy burden to carry and now he can perform in his academics, knowing he has peace of mind. He is pursuing a degree in statistics and data sciences at UCT and believes he will use these skills to one day give back to his community and to society as a whole. He said he is also excited to potentially work for the City of Cape Town one day!
Mihle Manana, a 19-year-old from Strandfontein is also a recipient. Manana said that attaining the bursary from the City meant a great deal because someone was investing in her and that the City of Cape Town believes in her. She said it pushes her to do more to obtain her bachelor of Applied Science degree with distinction.
Recipient Kaitlin van der Bijl is a 21-year-old from Somerset West. Van der Bijl said she is very excited and grateful about this opportunity, which will allow her to complete her degree. What she loves most about the field she is pursuing is that she will be able to work with people to make a difference by figuring out how systems work and how it can be used to benefit those that need help the most.
The various directorates within the City of Cape Town which identified a need for the qualifications and skills these students will obtain through their studies include departments within the Energy; Spatial Planning and Environment; Water and Sanitation; Human Settlements; Finance and Corporate Services directorates.
Please see the link to view the City’s identified scarce skills list here.
Caption 1: Alderman Theresa Uys with the group of successful students who were awarded with City of Cape Town bursaries this year
Caption 2: Alderman Theresa Uys; Mihle Manana, Bachelor of Applied Science (major Psychology and Counselling) student and Nonzuzo Ntubane, Training and Development Manager, City of Cape Town
Caption 3: Alderman Theresa Uys; Ayabonga Mbinyashe, Bsc Statistics and Data Sciences and Mathematics student and Nonzuzo Ntubane
Caption 4: Alderman Theresa Uys; Kaitlin van der Bijl, Law student and Nonzuzo Ntubane
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
