Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal

Master Builders KwaZulu-Natal is an employers' organisation for the province's building and construction industry, registered under the Labour Relations Act and operating for more than a century since 1901. It represents over 700 member companies ranging from large contractors to smaller building firms, and forms part of the national Master Builders South Africa federation, which brings together nine provincial associations representing more than 4,000 contractors and employers across the country. As an industry body rather than a single employer, its bursary fund exists to protect the long-term health of its own membership base: construction has faced persistent shortages of built-environment skills in South Africa, and the association funds students in building, construction, engineering and related built-environment fields so that its member companies have a pipeline of qualified people to hire from, not so any one firm can recruit exclusively.

Selection is based on financial need, academic ability and whether the course of study is in demand within the sector, with priority given to KwaZulu-Natal residents; awards are made one year at a time and renewed based on satisfactory academic progress. Because the funder is an association rather than an employer, there is no single company for graduates to work back to, and publicly available information does not describe a work-back obligation attached to the bursary.