What a learnership actually is

What the week actually looks like

• Your time is split between a training provider and a real workplace, and the split is weighted heavily towards the workplace — the classroom portion is the smaller half.
• On workplace days you are assigned to a team with a mentor or coach responsible for signing off what you can do. You are given real tasks, not observation.
• Throughout, you build a Portfolio of Evidence: the logbook, worksheets and signed task records that prove competence. It is assessed, and an incomplete portfolio is the most common reason a learner finishes the year without the qualification.

Where this leads next

1. 1

   Entry-level post in the same field

   Completing the qualification and, usually, the employer having a vacancy — conversion is never guaranteed.

2. 2

   Skills programme or a higher learnership

   Holding the NQF-level qualification below it; many employers fund this once you are on staff.

3. 3

   Team leader or supervisor

   Two to three years of demonstrated competence, often with a supervisory qualification on top.

A typical route, not a guarantee — progression depends on vacancies, funding and your own performance.