Santam Bursary 2025-2026
About the Santam Bursary Programme:
Santam Limited, South Africa’s largest general insurer, has established the Santam Bursary Programme as part of its Skills Development Academy. This initiative aims to create a pathway for critical and future-fit skills in the financial services sector, particularly focusing on the Short-Term Insurance Industry. The goal is to produce skilled, capable, and high-caliber graduate learners with core technical skills, as well as behavioral and leadership competencies. The bursary program offers opportunities to young, talented individuals pursuing studies in fields such as actuarial science, agriculture, underwriting, hydraulics, and insurance assessment. Santam’s objective is to build a talent stream and ensure South Africa has the required skills to support economic growth.
Who Can Apply:
Students pursuing a Postgraduate Diploma, Bachelor’s degree, or Honours degree in the following fields are eligible to apply:
- Actuarial, Data Analytics, Data Sciences, Statistics
- Agriculture
- Civil, Geomatics Engineering
- Insurance Technical Accounting, Economics, Finance, Mathematics
- Reinsurance, Risk Management, Underwriting
Bursary Details:
The Santam Bursary will cover costs (capped) for the following:
- Registration/Tuition fees
- Accommodation (Deposit, admin fees, etc.)
- Learning materials (Books, e-Manuals, etc.)
- Laptops
- Monthly allowance
- Travel/Transport allowance
Selection Criteria:
Successful applicants will be selected based on their academic potential and motivation for a career with Santam. Applicants must have achieved an average of 65% and above in their undergraduate degree and in the latest examinations (mid-year/June). Specific criteria apply to Agricultural applicants, which can be found below.
How to Apply:
Applications must be completed online before 30 September, to be considered for a bursary for 2025-2026. Only applications from South African citizens will be considered.
Closing Date:
Application season: 1 May to 30 September
Please carefully read the instructions on the bursary applications page before starting your application.
Overview:
Santam Agriculture aims to make a real difference in helping farmers create a sustainable future through effective risk management. The Santam Agriculture experts possess comprehensive knowledge of and experience in the agricultural industry, specializing in underwriting and loss assessments of crops to help clients manage their risks proactively. They understand the fundamentals of farming and its role in the responsible development of the country and the Santam business.
Closing the Scarce Skills Gap:
Santam is focused on creating a pipeline of students to support its Agri efforts through specialist knowledge transfer. The goal is to close the scarce skills gap in Agriculture Crop insurance by growing talented students organically through vacation work and practical exposure in underwriting, sales, and relationship management.
If You Are an Agriculture Bursar and/or Graduate:
- You can expect a career journey with a rolling forward approach, intending for graduates to be permanently retained as trainee area managers.
- You will automatically participate in the graduate program.
- You will participate in vacation work.
- You will be allocated a mentor.
- You will be invited to relevant business engagements/conferences as required.
Qualifications and Experience:
- 2- or 3-year Agricultural studies with a focus on crop production
- Agricultural degree/diploma with plant production and/or soil science as preferred subjects
- Microsoft Excel skills
- Assertiveness
- Good communication (verbal and written)
- Negotiation skills
- Good interpersonal skills
- Flexible, team-worker, collaborative
- Self-starter, drives results
- Customer focus
- For support services; business requirement dependent
Please Note:
Preference will be given to Employment Equity candidates.
Santam is an authorized financial services provider (FSP 3416), a licensed non-life insurer, and a controlling company for its group companies.
Core Competencies:
- Excellent communication skills (verbal and written)
- Good people skills
- Multilingual (geography dependent)
- Self-driven
- Learning agility
- Critical thinking
- Self-awareness
- Confidence
