Hillary Construction

Hillary Construction is a civil engineering contracting company headquartered in Polokwane, Limpopo. Founded in 1963 by Bill and Irene Hillary as an earthmoving operation and formally registered as a civil engineering contractor in 1967, the company has grown over six decades into a major regional contractor, undertaking road-building, earthworks, and civil infrastructure projects across Limpopo and further afield into Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia.

As a labour- and skills-intensive civil contractor operating largely in under-serviced provinces, Hillary Construction has a direct commercial interest in growing the pool of qualified civil engineers, quantity surveyors, and surveyors available to it, particularly in Limpopo where technical graduates are in short supply. Its bursary programme, open to Grade 12 candidates with the required Mathematics and Science symbols progressing to a National Diploma or Degree in Civil Engineering, Quantity Surveying, or Surveying, functions as a structured recruitment pipeline as much as a philanthropic gesture.

The bursary carries a clear work-back structure: successful candidates must first complete a one-year Road Construction Learnership (treated as a gap year) with the company, during which their sponsorship for the following year of study is reconsidered and confirmed. Publicly available material does not specify a further bonded-employment period after study is completed beyond this initial learnership year; applicants should confirm current terms directly with Hillary Construction's HR department (hr@hillary.co.za) as part of the annual application process, which closes on 30 November.