21 October 2024
There seem to be some confusion among Candidates regarding SASSETA and what they offer, so I will try and clear that up a bit and try to point you in the right direction. Just note that I do not work for them, so I don’t know anything about their inner workings. You will have to follow up by yourselves. SASSETA’s funded bursaries are spread over different Chambers of which Legal is but one. I will focus on this as the relevant one for our purposes.
You are required to contact the SASSETA Legal Chamber training institute and enquire about available bursaries. They also advertise in daily and weekend newspapers. This is very important to note, as they make these available once a year and if you miss the application date, you will have to wait for the following year. This means you guys will have to be on top of things! They also state that they may or may not advertise once a year.
Your respective employer should apply on your behalf. That said, it seems to be a general rule over all the different Chambers, as there are Candidates who are looking for articles and already got funding. It may be best to contact SASSETA directly to make sure of your options.
The latest information shows 170 grants for Candidate Attorneys for up to 12 months plus Practical Legal Training and Pupilage for 12 months, depending on your choice of the Attorney or Advocate Route. A further 30 grants are offered for Candidate Attorneys to be placed in Conveyancing posts for 24 months.
Their requirements are as follows:
1. At least 80% of Candidates must be between 18 and 35 years of age at date of registration.
2. 80% of Candidates must be Black and
3. 54% must be female
Now don’t bite my head off if you don’t like the requirements. I just convey them; I don’t make them!
You can go to SASSETA’s webpage, clicking on Safety and Security Sector Education and Training Authority | SASSETA . Go to “how can we help you”, click on Learners and then Bursaries.
From the Home Page, you can also click on “Subsectors”, then on Legal Services. Scroll down to the PDFs and choose “SASSETA Legal Services Chamber”.
There are also contact details for more information. If you have questions, you can go right down to the bottom of any page and click on the Frequently Asked Questions.
Another helpful link is Bursaries@sasseta.org.za
I hope you will find this information helpful. Till next time.
