Alpvest Institute for FutureTechAIFT

Alpvest Institute for FutureTech, which uses the acronym AIFT, is a private education institution with its main campus in Umhlanga Ridge, north of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. It is the new name of PC Training and Business College, a college that was started in 1990 and later rebranded to focus on technology and digital learning. The institution says it has more than 35 years of history behind it.

AIFT lists a mix of accreditations on its website. Its Higher Certificate in Digital Marketing and Social Media is shown as accredited by the Council on Higher Education, while its large range of occupational qualifications falls under the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations. The site also shows Umalusi, CATHSSETA, ETDP SETA, Services SETA and FASSET as accrediting bodies. The site does not publish registration or accreditation numbers for any of these bodies.

Teaching happens in three ways. Students can study through contact learning at a campus, through blended learning that mixes classroom and online work, or fully through distance learning on the Moodle online platform. Full-time, part-time and online study options are all mentioned.

The institution has campuses in four provinces. Apart from the Umhlanga main campus, it lists sites in central Durban, Johannesburg, Randburg, Kempton Park, Pretoria, Polokwane and Cape Town.

The qualifications on offer are grouped into four faculties: Business Innovation and Management; Information, Communication and Future Technologies; Digital Arts and Educational Technology; and Public Administration, Governance and Sustainability. Within these, AIFT lists occupational certificates in fields such as software development, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science, bookkeeping, tax, project management, early childhood development, hospitality and tourism. It also lists NATED National N Diploma programmes in business management, financial management, engineering, hospitality, marketing, public management and tourism, plus a set of micro-credentials and skills programmes in areas like Python, Power BI, digital marketing and sustainability.

For its NQF level 5 programmes, the published entry requirement is a National Senior Certificate or a National Certificate (Vocational) at NQF level 4. Recognition of prior learning is available for people with relevant work experience. Applications are made online through an application portal and there is an application fee, although the amount is not published on the main site. No fixed application opening or closing dates are shown; the site simply says that 2026 registrations are open. Study fees are also not published. The institution states that its preferred payment method is by credit card and that fees must be paid in full before studies begin.