Access Trust was previously known as TECSAT (Technical College Student Aid Trust), and underwent a name change in 2009 to better reflect the sector we serve. Technical Colleges are now called Further Education and Training Colleges, and are places where a wide variety of skills can be learned, not only technical skills. Click here for a list of colleges in the Western Cape.

TECSAT grew naturally out of the African Scholars Fund (ASF), which had been providing bursaries for needy school children for over 30 years. As learners finished their schooling, they needed to find work, and to find work they needed specific skills. In the early 1990s the ASF started giving a few bursaries for students to learn skills at a technical colleges.

The demand grew year by year, and in 1998 the Rectors of the colleges in the Western Cape approached the ASF to ask if a new Fund could be started especially for college students, as there was a desperate need for student financial aid. It made sense to have a separate fund with its own Trustees and fundraising focus, and so TECSAT was born. For some time TECSAT was administered by the African Scholars’ Fund, but since the beginning of 2009 has become completely independent. With a new name and expanded services to our students, we welcome the challenges and opportunities of our second decade.

Access Trust operates only within the Western Cape at present, but it is hoped that expansion to other provinces will be possible in the future.