All 21 SETAs in South Africa (2026)
SETAs (Sector Education and Training Authorities) are the bodies that fund and accredit South Africa's learnerships, internships and skills programmes. There are 21 SETAs, each covering a specific sector of the economy. Click through to a SETA below to see which industries it covers and which large employers run learnerships under it.
AgriSETA
Agriculture
Funds skills development for agricultural production, processing and related services - from crop farming and livestock to agro-pr...
BANKSETA
Banking
Funds learnerships, internships and skills programmes in the SA banking sector. Most major SA banks run learnerships co-funded or ...
CATHSSETA
Tourism, Hospitality, Culture and Sport
Funds skills development in hospitality, tourism, arts, culture, sport and recreation, and gaming and lotteries.
CETA
Construction
Funds skills programmes in the building, civil engineering and construction sector - from artisan trades to construction managemen...
CHIETA
Chemical Industries
Funds learnerships in chemical manufacturing - petrochemicals, surface coatings, pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, plastics and rubber...
ETDP SETA
Education and Training
Funds skills development for those working in education, training and development - educators, trainers, ECD practitioners and ass...
EWSETA
Energy and Water
Funds learnerships across the SA energy and water value chains - electricity generation and distribution, gas, water and sanitatio...
FASSET
Finance and Accounting
Funds skills development in accounting, audit, tax, management consulting and financial services. SAICA / SAIPA / SAIT articles ar...
FoodBev SETA
Food and Beverage Manufacturing
Funds learnerships in food and beverage manufacturing - from primary processing through to packaging, sales and distribution.
FP&M SETA
Fibre Processing and Manufacturing
Funds learnerships across textiles, clothing, footwear, leather, forestry, pulp and paper, publishing and printing.
HWSETA
Health and Welfare
Funds skills development for the health and welfare sectors - hospitals, clinics, social services and animal welfare.
INSETA
Insurance
Funds learnerships in the SA insurance sector - life, short-term, brokers, reinsurance and underwriting management agencies.
LGSETA
Local Government
Funds skills development for SA local government - metros, district and local municipalities, and traditional councils.
merSETA
Manufacturing and Engineering
The largest SETA by learner volume. Funds artisan trades (boilermaker, millwright, fitter, electrician), engineering learnerships ...
MICT SETA
Media, ICT and Telecoms
Funds learnerships in IT, telecommunications, media, advertising and electronics. Software developer, technical support and call c...
MQA
Mining and Minerals
Funds learnerships, internships and trade-test programmes across the SA mining and minerals sector. Mine-safety-related qualificat...
PSETA
National Public Service
Funds skills development for national and provincial public service departments. Other public-sector SETAs (LGSETA, ETDP, HWSETA, ...
SASSETA
Safety and Security
Funds learnerships in policing, defence, correctional services, private security, legal services and intelligence.
Services SETA
General Services
Funds skills development across a broad range of business and personal services - including cleaning, hairdressing, real estate, m...
TETA
Transport and Logistics
Funds learnerships across road, rail, maritime, aviation and freight handling. Transnet-related artisan learnerships are TETA-alig...
W&RSETA
Wholesale and Retail
Funds learnerships across all SA retail formats - supermarkets, clothing, hardware, distribution and online retail. Single largest...
What is a SETA?
SETAs were established under the Skills Development Act of 1998 to drive sector-based skills development in South Africa. Every registered learnership, internship or skills programme in SA is accredited and funded through one of the 21 SETAs. Employers pay a Skills Development Levy (1% of payroll) to SARS each month; that levy is redistributed via SETAs as Mandatory and Discretionary Grants to fund learnerships, bursaries and skills programmes in their sector.
Why this matters when you apply for a learnership
- The qualification you receive comes from the SETA, not the employer. Your learnership certificate is issued by the relevant SETA and registered with SAQA on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).
- SETA-funded learnerships follow minimum stipend rules. The Department of Higher Education and Training publishes minimum learner allowances by NQF level which SETAs must enforce on funded programmes.
- You can only do ONE SETA-funded learnership at a time. Companies will check this when you apply.
- Each company\'s programme is aligned to one or more SETAs depending on the sector and the qualification track. For example, banking learnerships at FNB / Absa are BANKSETA-aligned; Toyota artisan learnerships are merSETA-aligned; SPAR retail learnerships are W&RSETA-aligned.
Related
- All Learnerships 2026 (hub)
- Learnership stipends comparison
- OFO codes lookup
- WSP / ATR submission guide (for employers)
SETA list verified against DHET SETAlinks and individual SETA websites on 2026-05-18. SETAs occasionally have governance changes; for the authoritative list see dhet.gov.za/SETAlinks.