DHET–Google AI and Digital Skills Scholarships — 10,000 Career Certificates for South African Students and Educators

On 30 March 2026, South Africa's Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and Google South Africa signed a two-year Memorandum of Understanding to roll out an initial 10,000 Google Career Certificate scholarships in AI Essentials, cybersecurity and data analytics. The scholarships target students at public universities and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Community Education and Training (CET) colleges, with an explicit focus on rural and township communities.

Beyond direct student scholarships, the agreement funds educator capacity-building through Google's 'Generative AI for Educators' programme delivered as a train-the-trainer model, intended to spread AI-teaching skills across institutional staff rather than relying on one-off training. Google is also providing curriculum co-creation and localisation support, ChromeOS Flex device-refurbishment support for institutions with older hardware, and joint input on AI policy development with DHET.

The MoU was signed at Google South Africa's Johannesburg headquarters and publicised through an official government statement (SAnews) alongside independent trade-press coverage. As of the signing, the agreement is a funded commitment with a defined scope and timeline rather than a programme with measured graduate outcomes — no completion or employment data has yet been reported, so its learning impact should be treated as unproven until the first cohorts finish.

Read the full analysis: https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/agreement-boost-youth-ai-digital-skills