Eskom learnerships 2026: what is actually open

As at July 2026, eskom.co.za/careers carries this notice in Eskom's own words:

"We appreciate your interest in joining Eskom. Our recruitment website is temporarily unavailable until further notice. During this period, job applicants will not be able to create profiles or access job opportunities. Please note that all profiles and job applications submitted before the suspension remain valid."

We also checked the live Eskom applicant portal directly. The vacancies currently listed are all mid-to-senior professional roles - quality management, occupational health nursing, planning and scheduling, infrastructure projects. There is no learnership, apprenticeship, internship or bursary open.

Here is the mechanism behind most fake Eskom learnership content, and it is worth understanding because it repeats every year.

Eskom's applicant tracking system keeps expired adverts publicly viewable at stable URLs. Worse, the status field on those pages is unreliable - we found adverts months past their closing date still showing "Under Review".

Real examples from the portal:

Content farms scrape these pages, see "Under Review", and publish them as open opportunities.

These are the actual published requirements from Eskom's most recent apprenticeship adverts. Use them to prepare now, so you are ready when applications reopen.

Electrical Apprentices - a 3-year apprenticeship combining institutional and on-the-job training, leading to a Trade Test certificate. Three alternative entry routes:

• Technical Matric: Maths 50%, Physical Science 50%, English 40%, plus Electrical Trade Theory
• N3 Engineering: Maths 50%, Engineering Science 50%, plus Electrical Electrotechnology 40%
• NCV Level 4: Physical Science 50%, Maths 50%, English 40%

Learner - Plant Maintenance - a 2-year learning programme contract. Entry: Grade 12 in Mechatronics, Mechanical, Electrical or Electronics (C&I). Eskom notes an Electrical (Power Plant) option is an added advantage.

Learner Artisan Electrical - entry via National N6 with electrical trade subjects, N4/N5 with trade subjects, Grade 12 with Maths 50% / Physical Science 50% / English 40%, or NCV Level 4 with the same marks.

Every Eskom learner and apprentice advert we examined states the salary as "Market Related". Eskom does not publish a rand amount for any of its youth programmes.

That matters because numerous sites quote specific Eskom learnership stipends. Those figures do not come from Eskom.

What you can rely on is the legal floor: any registered learnership must pay at least the gazetted minimum allowance, which starts at R455.00 per week from 1 March 2026 and rises with NQF level and credits earned. See our learnership stipends guide for the full table.

While learnership adverts are sporadic, Eskom's bursary programme is demonstrably active. Eskom announced 200 bursaries for the 2026 financial year and a separate award of 138 engineering bursaries, with more than 10,000 beneficiaries since the 1970s and over 11,000 in the past decade.

Crucially, Eskom describes the onward path explicitly: "Bursary recipients typically start their careers as Engineers in Training and then move into specialist and leadership roles within Eskom's Generation, Distribution, and the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA)."

Two separate schemes exist, with different mark requirements:

• University Bursary (BEng/BSc, public university) - English Level 4, Pure Maths Level 5, Physical Science Level 5
• University of Technology Bursary (Diploma) - English Level 4, Pure Maths Level 4, Physical Science Level 4

Both require SA citizenship, Grade 11 final or Grade 12 results, conditional acceptance to study engineering, and that you hold no other bursary. See our Eskom bursary page.

Eskom has been targeted by recruitment scammers before - a joint operation with SAPS over fake vacancies at Medupi Power Station led to three arrests, after applicants were lured to bogus interviews in Gauteng.

The reliable tells:

• Any request for money - for an application, an interview, a medical, or transport. Never legitimate.
• Any route that is not eskomcareers.ci.hr. Eskom is portal-only and does not accept emailed CVs for advertised roles.
• A specific rand stipend quoted. Eskom says "Market Related", full stop.
• An advert live today. Eskom's recruitment site is suspended.
• Interview invitations from free email accounts rather than an @eskom.co.za address.

Report suspected fraud to the Eskom Crime Line on 0800 11 27 22.