Poverty and education are inextricably linked. Our vision is to empower through educating previously disadvantaged students entering the workplace by providing South Africa with qualified professionals. We seek out critical industries that contribute towards the progression and development of South Africa’s socio-economic status.
South Africa’s drastic educational gap leads to increased potential for poverty, and poverty leading to education being lower on the list of priorities. However, education most certainly brings the potential to eliminate poverty, minimising the impact of unemployment and inequality statistics in South Africa.
The JB Marks Education Trust Fund’s mandate is to address the need for empowerment through education, NUM members and their dependents.
Established by NUM in 1997, the fund has spent over two decades comprehensively addressing the need to empower NUM members and their children and beneficiaries, particularly graduates entering the mining, energy and construction industries.
The Trust was set up to facilitate access to further education and personal development for the beneficiaries and their dependents. The Trust aims to assist in the transformation of the South African economy by upskills these sectors and providing its beneficiaries with a competitive advantage in the labour market through further education.
What makes the JB Marks Education Trust Fund especially vital to the upliftment of these communities is its focus on the dependents of the NUM members and the future of South Africa.
Over the past two decades, JB Marks has provided bursaries to members ultimately enabling 1 121 benefactors to graduate with qualifications in mining, energy, construction and even medicine.
The Trust has worked tirelessly to pursue the wishes of its namesake, John Beaver Marks, an activist and legendary South African leader. We continue to be inspired by Marks’ passion for education and its ability to empowerment people. Mark insisted that emancipation was only achievable through learning.
For this reason the Trust has continually provided funds to cover tuition, registration, accommodation, tutorage, meals and bridging courses to over 1 000 bursary recipients and has disbursed R286 million to over 2 000 beneficiaries.
In 2017, 200 bursaries were awarded, bringing the total number of students in the pipeline to 700 undergraduates and 50 post-graduates.
The Trust receives most of its funding from MIT through dividends from MIC. This allows the Trust to continue to deliver on Mark’s vision.
