If you are an apprentice or learner on a registered programme, you have real legal rights: a written three-party agreement, a minimum weekly allowance set by law, the personal protective equipment (PPE) you need, and a route to the CCMA if you are not paid or not trained. The crucial detail is registration. A learner on a properly registered learnership gets the minimum allowances in Schedule 2 of the National Minimum Wage Act. If the agreement is not registered with a SETA, the general National Minimum Wage applies instead.
Learnership or apprenticeship
Two routes are often confused:
- A learnership leads to an NQF-registered qualification (the National Qualifications Framework grades learning from level 1 to 8). It usually runs 12 to 24 months.
- An apprenticeship is the artisan or trade pathway. It runs longer, typically three to four years, and ends in a trade test leading to a trade certificate issued under the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO).
Both run on a written three-party agreement between the employer, the learner and an accredited training provider, under the Skills Development Act.
What the agreement must contain
Your written agreement must, by law:
- Name all three parties: the employer, you the learner, and the accredited training provider.
- State the qualification you are working towards and its SAQA registration number (SAQA is the South African Qualifications Authority).
- Set the duration of the programme.
- Confirm your allowance or wage.
- Commit the employer to structured workplace learning and a qualified workplace mentor. A mentor may not supervise more than three apprentices at the same time.
- Be in the form prescribed by your relevant SETA (Sector Education and Training Authority).
The SETA registers the agreement. For construction and plumbing trades that is CETA (the Construction Education and Training Authority); for many electrical trades it is MERSETA or EWSETA. The employer, usually through their Skills Development Facilitator, lodges the registration. The National Artisan Moderation Body (NAMB) oversees trade tests nationally.
Your minimum allowance
Learners on a registered learnership are not simply on the general National Minimum Wage (NMW). They are entitled to the minimum weekly allowances set in Schedule 2 of the National Minimum Wage Act, structured by NQF level and the credits you have already earned. These were updated in GN 7083, Government Gazette 54075, dated 3 February 2026, and took effect on 1 March 2026. They range from about R455.00 a week for a new entrant up to about R2,654.04 a week at the top band (NQF levels 5 to 8 with 481 to 600 credits earned). A few reference points from Schedule 2, effective 1 March 2026:
- NQF level 1 to 2, 0 to 120 credits: R455.00 a week.
- NQF level 4, 241 to 360 credits: R1,402.87 a week.
- NQF level 4, 361 to 480 credits: R2,047.41 a week.
- NQF level 5 to 8, 481 to 600 credits: R2,654.04 a week.
This is the key honesty point: that R455.00 floor works out at roughly R10 an hour over a 45-hour week, well below the R30.23 general minimum wage that applies from 1 March 2026. That is lawful, but only because the learner is on a properly SETA-registered agreement. If your agreement is not registered, you can argue you are entitled to the full R30.23 an hour. For a genuine dispute, get advice from a labour lawyer or the CCMA.
If you are already an employee on the payroll doing a learnership, your normal contract and any bargaining council rate keep applying; you are not downgraded to the learnership allowance. Building and civil workers covered by the BIBC (Cape Peninsula) or BCCEI keep those council rates as the floor.
Hours, PPE, tools and fees
- Working hours follow the Basic Conditions of Employment Act: a maximum of 45 hours a week and 9 hours a day, with overtime rules on top.
- PPE is the employer's responsibility to issue. The SETA actually checks with you that you received it.
- Tools for the trade must be provided by the employer so you get proper exposure in a safe environment.
- College and theory fees are the employer's cost unless covered by SETA grant funding. Employers with a payroll over R500,000 a year pay the skills development levy and can claim discretionary grants to fund learnerships.
The trade test
When you meet the qualifying criteria, your employer registers you for the trade test. The typical criteria are an N2 qualification or equivalent, 100% completion of your workplace logbook, and a minimum of 18 months of workplace learning. The test is sat at an accredited trade test centre (INDLELA in Pretoria is the state facility; private accredited centres exist too). If your employer refuses to register you for the trade test once you qualify, that can be an unfair labour practice you take to the CCMA.
If training fails or the business closes
- Employer fails to train you: you can refer a dispute to the CCMA over breach or termination of the learnership agreement.
- Business closes mid-programme: the agreement ends, but you keep the credits you have earned. Go to your SETA to be re-placed with a new host employer so you can finish.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the agreement is registered. If it is not lodged with a SETA, the Schedule 2 allowance does not apply and you should be on the full R30.23 an hour.
- Accepting no PPE. The employer must issue it; the SETA verifies this with you.
- Not keeping your logbook. Without 100% logbook completion you cannot sit the trade test.
- Letting underpayment slide. Non-payment or underpayment of an allowance is a money-owing claim you can take to the CCMA, free, or report to a Department of Employment and Labour inspector.
- For employers: paying an unregistered "apprentice" below the NMW. Schedule 2 only covers registered agreements; everyone else gets at least R30.23 an hour.
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