Last updated: 15 September 2026 · Blessing M Digital
The education section is where South African CVs go wrong quietly. Not because people lie, but because they either bury the qualification the advert asked for, or pad the section with things nobody needed.
How do you list matric on a CV?
Write the qualification name, the school and the year completed, on one line. If you hold a higher qualification, that is all matric needs. Only list individual subjects and results when you have no tertiary qualification yet, or when the advert asks for specific subject results such as Mathematics or Accounting.
Redhill Secondary School, 2019
If you are a school leaver with no work history, the subject list is genuinely useful because it is most of your evidence. Include it, with results:
Redhill Secondary School, 2025
English HL 68% · Mathematical Literacy 74% · Life Sciences 61%
Business Studies 70% · Life Orientation 79% · isiZulu FAL 72%
Should you write the NQF level?
Include it when the advert mentions NQF levels, which many South African adverts and public sector posts do. Copy the level exactly as it appears on your own certificate or your institution's records rather than working it out yourself. Matric is commonly cited as NQF level 4, and your certificate will confirm it.
We deliberately do not publish a full NQF lookup table here. Qualification types map onto levels in ways that vary by qualification, and the authoritative answer for your specific certificate is on the certificate itself or with SAQA. Copying the wrong level onto a CV is worse than leaving it off.
What if you did not finish your studies?
List it honestly and state where you stopped. Write the qualification, the institution, the years attended, and how far you got, such as "first and second year completed". Never write it in a way that implies you graduated. Incomplete study is common and rarely disqualifying; a qualification that turns out not to exist is.
University of Johannesburg, 2021 to 2023
First and second year completed. Studies paused for financial reasons.
Qualifications are verified. In South Africa it is normal for an employer to check qualifications through a screening provider before an offer is finalised, and misrepresenting a qualification is treated seriously. Say what is true and let it be true.
A one-line reason is optional. It can help when the gap would otherwise raise a question, and it takes the awkwardness out of the interview.
Where do learnerships, short courses and certificates go?
Give them their own heading, below your formal qualifications. Mixing a two-day workshop into the same list as a degree makes the section harder to read and makes the degree look smaller.
- Worth listing: completed learnerships, accredited certificates, technical tickets and licences, and anything the advert names directly.
- Worth listing if relevant: substantial online courses where you can name what you can now do.
- Not worth listing: a long tail of one-hour webinars. Three relevant items read as focus. Fifteen read as filler.
N-levels and technical qualifications
List N-levels the way they are written on the certificate, with the institution and year. If you have completed the practical component required for a trade qualification, say so explicitly, because that is often the thing the employer is actually screening for.
Qualifications earned outside South Africa
List the qualification as it was awarded, with the country and institution, then note whether it has been evaluated by SAQA. Many South African employers and all public sector posts expect a SAQA evaluation certificate for a foreign qualification, so stating that it is done, or in progress, answers the question before it is asked.
University of Nairobi, Kenya, 2018
SAQA evaluation completed, certificate available on request.
What order should the education section be in?
- Most recent first. Same rule as work history.
- Highest qualification first where two fall in the same year.
- Formal qualifications, then short courses, under separate headings.
- Professional registrations and memberships last, unless the role requires one, in which case put it near the top where it cannot be missed.
Where should education sit on the page?
If you have work experience, education goes after it. If you are a school leaver or recent graduate, education goes first, because it is your strongest evidence. Use a standard heading, "Education" or "Qualifications", so parsing software recognises the section. Creative headings such as "My Journey" can cause the whole section to be misfiled, which is covered in ATS CVs in South Africa: what actually matters.
Common questions
I failed matric. Do I have to put it on?
Do not claim a qualification you do not hold. You can list the school and years attended, and note the subjects you passed if that helps. Many roles do not require matric, and an amended senior certificate or a second sitting is a normal route.
My matric results were poor. Should I include the marks?
If you hold a higher qualification, no. One line naming the certificate is enough. If matric is your highest qualification and the results are weak, list the certificate and the subjects without the percentages unless the advert asks.
How far back should education go?
Matric is as far back as anyone needs. There is no reason to list primary school.
Do I need to attach certificates?
Only if the advert asks. Attaching several scanned documents to a first application makes the email heavy and gives away more personal information than the stage requires.
Templates with the section already laid out
The South African CV & Job-Search System is sixteen files as a once-off download. Both CV designs use standard section headings, in one column, with the education block already ordered and worded so you type over an example rather than starting from an empty page.
A4 exactly, editable in Word, Google Docs or WPS. All three are free to use. The current price is on the product page.