What is work-integrated learning (WIL)?

What is work-integrated learning (WIL)?

WIL joins what you learn in class with hands-on practice.

The national framework for higher education qualifications (called the HEQSF) was revised and published in the Government Gazette on 3 July 2026. It says WIL is structured, monitored and assessed, to check that you can show the skills in practice.

The Council on Higher Education (CHE) describes it a little differently. In a 2011 guide it said WIL could be described as "an educational approach that aligns academic and workplace practices for the mutual benefit of students and workplaces."

In short: your institution plans it, a supervisor watches it, and you get marked on it.

Your institution may call it something else, such as experiential learning, co-operative education (co-op), a practicum or a work placement.

What are the different kinds of WIL?

The revised framework says WIL can be done in many ways, at all levels of the NQF within the higher education framework. (The NQF is the National Qualifications Framework, which runs from Level 1 to 10.) The forms it names include:

• Simulated learning
• Problem-based learning
• Project-based learning
• Service learning
• Work-directed theoretical learning
• Workplace-based learning

Workplace-based learning is the one most people mean. The framework describes it as placing students in a practical work environment, and says it should go through formal arrangements between the institution and the organisation where you are placed. It must be "appropriately structured, properly supervised and assessed."

Is WIL the same as an internship, learnership or apprenticeship?

They overlap, but they are not the same thing. Even the CHE guide lists apprenticeships as one form of WIL. Here is the simple version:

The learnership, apprenticeship and internship descriptions come from the DHET's Career Help service. Read more in our guides to what a learnership is, what an apprenticeship is and learnership vs apprenticeship.

Which courses include WIL?

The revised framework says WIL is an integral part of vocational qualifications. These are qualifications aimed at getting you ready to work in specific vocations or jobs. It gives these examples:

• Higher Certificate (Vocational): includes a WIL part, as simulated work experience or workplace-based learning.
• Diploma (Vocational): WIL "has to be added." Up to 120 credits can be given to WIL.
• Advanced Diploma (Vocational): can combine coursework with WIL.
• Professional qualifications: may include WIL. Some programmes require it.

Rules differ from one institution and programme to the next. Two examples:

• The Cape Peninsula University of Technology says WIL is compulsory in many of its qualifications.
• The Vaal University of Technology says workplace-based learning is compulsory across most of its academic fields.

Always check your own programme. The prospectus or programme page should say if WIL is part of it.

Example: becoming a teacher

The government's teacher education policy (published in the Government Gazette in February 2015) sets school-based practice:

• BEd (four years, full-time): a minimum of 20 weeks and a maximum of 32 weeks in schools over the whole degree.
• PGCE (one year, full-time): a minimum of eight and a maximum of 12 weeks in schools.

How long does WIL take?

There is no one answer. It depends on your qualification.

• Credits: one credit equals 10 notional study hours, according to the DHET. Up to 120 credits of a vocational diploma can go to WIL, which is up to 1,200 notional hours. As a rough example only, that is about 30 weeks at 40 hours a week. This is our own sum, and 120 is the most, not the norm.
• University of technology: the Cape Peninsula University of Technology says its placements run from 3 to 12 months.
• TVET National N Diploma: see below.

What does WIL look like at a TVET college?

A TVET college is a public technical and vocational college. (TVET stands for Technical and Vocational Education and Training.) Learn more in what a TVET college is.

For the National N Diploma, you complete N4 to N6 and then workplace experience. The DHET's application guide says:

• Business studies: at least 18 months or 2,000 hours of applicable experience.
• Engineering studies: two years or 2,670 hours.
• Logbook: you attach an approved QCTO logbook that lists the activities you did. (The QCTO is the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations.)
• Supervision: in the guide's business programmes, the work is supervised by a college placement or WIL officer and a company supervisor or manager.
• Help: WIL officers help students find placements with relevant employers.

The college checks your papers and recommends your application to the DHET. Check the latest N4 to N6 dates in our TVET guide, and with your college, because these programmes are changing.

Occupational qualifications also have a work part. The QCTO says they are divided into three components: theory, practical and work-based.

SETAs (Sector Education and Training Authorities) sometimes help fund WIL. In October 2025, the Services SETA invited public TVET colleges to apply for WIL funding for NATED learners in 18-month WIL programmes.

Who finds your WIL placement?

It depends on your institution, so ask early.

• The Vaal University of Technology says its Co-operative Education office offers placement services.
• The Cape Peninsula University of Technology says its placement coordinators and Cooperative Education Unit help students.
• TVET colleges have WIL officers who help students find placements.
• In one case study in the CHE guide, students were expected to find their own sites, and a coordinator approved them. That is one university's practice, not a national rule.

Do you get paid during WIL?

We could not find a single national rule on this. The Vaal University of Technology says some of its students are funded by SETAs, but it does not say how. Ask your WIL office before you start:

• Is there a stipend, and who pays it?
• Who pays for transport?
• What do I need to sign?

How to get ready for WIL

1. Find out if your programme needs WIL and when it happens.
2. Ask who finds the placement: you or the institution.
3. Register on time. The Vaal University of Technology says students must register within one month of starting training.
4. Prepare a CV and cover letter. The Cape Peninsula University of Technology encourages this and offers workshops.
5. Keep your logbook up to date. You need it for the N Diploma.

Warning: never pay anyone for a WIL placement without checking with your institution's WIL office first. This is our own advice. In 2021, in a statement about a fake learnership, the Department of Employment and Labour told job seekers to be wary of being asked to make any payments for services. You can report suspected fraud linked to that department on 0860 022 194 or at fraud@labour.gov.za (2021 details, so check the department's website for the latest).

Frequently asked questions