What we do - TTI Bursary Management

Specialised Bursary Management

Clients call TTI Bursary Management at the beginning of their bursary cycle when they need advice on how to spend their skills development budget on bursaries. We assist with full bursary cycle including policy development, recruitment, administration of funds, monitoring and reporting, student support for academic excellence and psychological strength.

Bursaries

At TTI we manage a range of bursary types and cater for various kinds of client strategies. Each bursary has a distinct bursary policy and criteria.

Recruitment bursaries

These bursaries are awarded by companies who are aiming to attract potential employees back into the business. Applicants qualify based on skills training related to the company’s business operations. Students will enter into a contract with the funding company and may or may not have to work for the funding company once they complete their studies. The service commitment if any, is usually on a year for a year basis.

Testimony: by a company that hired a student

"I have great feedback from business about this year’s cohort of the graduate programme. They understand our corporate culture and business is very impressed with the quality of professionalism and soft skills the candidates possess."

Transformation Manager

Employee bursary schemes

This is a bursary category where students funded are beneficiaries or relatives of the funder’s employees. TTI will facilitate the application process and provide support for employee relations through this bursary programme.

Testimony: from employee whose child is in the programme

“Thank you for the emotional support you give to my son. After he spoke to one of your coordinators, he told me that I work for a great company that really cares about us. This made every challenge in my job worth it.”

Parent and employee

Community based bursary Scheme

A bursary awarded to permanent residents of a community within which a funding company operates. TTI supports companies that want to invest in developing the communities and increasing the skills value that benefit those communities

Testimony: from a community leader who sees the value of the company’s involvement and impact on the student

“Seeing the students from this community graduating and their sense of responsibility towards the development of this village, makes our relationship with the traditional council through this bursary project valuable. The efforts of the bursary programme is welcomed by all stakeholders in this municipality”

Councillor

Student support

Student support: A case beyond the money

The introduction of fee free education is great and welcomed but poses a socio-economic challenge. Although participation rate of students in low income families will improve in higher education, statistics still show that an average of only 30% of contact students in South African Public universities complete a three years degree in regulated time. This means that although more students will have access to tertiary education, those students will not exit the system quickly enough to give way for others. These poor university throughput and pass rates will have a ripple effect, where money spent in higher education is wasted on non-graduating students.

The problem is not different even for bursary funders. The cost of students not completing or taking longer to complete is not budgeted for and we work to minimise that cost.

We understand that the opportunity of accessing higher education for the first time comes with challenges for many young people to overcome in order to see timely success. We have a team of professional mentors, qualified coaches and mental health care workers who are dedicated to assisting the students.

We aim to assist companies to navigate the following challenges in managing their bursary:

Improving pass rates and mitigating dropout rates for tertiary students
Increase the chances for employability and entrepreneurship for students to become contributors of the economy post school.
Reduce academic and psychological risks at higher institution

TTI recognizes that due to the significant gap between rural education and lifestyle, and tertiary education in larger cities, bursary students require ongoing mentorship and support throughout the year.

Our psychosocial support programme

A psychosocial support programme in addition to the financial support is aimed at strengthening the young person’s capacity to carry the heavy burden of being the first with an opportunity to study at university in their family, even in their community.

We know that everyone needs a little support and guidance at some stage in their lives. Our mentors act as a safety net to our students, to identify possible problem areas and to assist with personal skills development.