Civil Engineering Technician
Civil engineering technicians help plan, mark out and check the roads, foundations and drainage that solar farms, wind farms, substations and power lines are built on. South Africa's grid plan for 2025 to 2034 includes about 14,000 kilometres of new high-voltage power lines.
Jobs in the energy transition
Wind farm civil technician
You'd help mark out and check the site roads and the huge concrete foundations that wind turbines stand on.
Extra training: To register as an engineering technician, you'd usually need a diploma accredited by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) after your NC(V).
Solar farm civil technician
You'd help survey a new solar farm's site and mark out and check its roads, drainage and foundations.
Extra training: To register as an engineering technician, you'd usually need a diploma accredited by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) after your NC(V).
Power line and substation civil technician
You'd help plan and check the foundations for the towers that carry new high-voltage power lines and for new substations.
Extra training: To register as an engineering technician, you'd usually need a diploma accredited by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) after your NC(V).
Hydrogen plant civil technician
You'd help check the foundations, roads and other civil works while a green hydrogen plant is built, most likely in the Northern, Western or Eastern Cape, where most planned projects are.
Extra training: To register as an engineering technician, you'd usually need a diploma accredited by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) after your NC(V).
How to get there
The qualifications
What you need to start
To start NC(V) Civil Engineering and Building Construction at Level 2, you need to have passed Grade 9, and the older NATED (N1 to N6) building and civil engineering courses are no longer open to new students. To register as an engineering technician later, you'll usually also need a diploma accredited by the Engineering Council of South Africa, which you can apply for with good enough NC(V) Level 4 results.
These are the official minimum requirements, and colleges can set higher ones.
Where you can study
Data verified June–July 2026 from official college publications and the DHET occupational qualifications register. Spot an error? Suggest a correction.
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