Die werkgewer stel die kandidaat aan as hy kwalifiseer.

Because the dictionary form is aanstel, which is a separable verb meaning appoint, hire, or take on.

In a main clause, the verb part stel goes to the normal verb position, and the particle aan moves to the end:

Die werkgewer stel die kandidaat aan.

But in some other structures, the verb stays together:

• Die werkgewer sal die kandidaat aanstel.
• om die kandidaat aan te stel

So this split is normal and very common in Afrikaans.

It can mean either, depending on context.

In a job-related sentence like this, aanstel usually means something like:

• hire
• appoint
• employ

If the context is a formal position, appoint may sound best. If it is general employment, hire is often the most natural English equivalent.

Because die is the normal definite article in Afrikaans for the.

Afrikaans does not have different forms like English used to in older stages of the language, and it does not mark grammatical gender in the article the way some other languages do. So you simply get:

• die werkgewer = the employer
• die kandidaat = the candidate

Also, die is used for both singular and plural definite nouns, so it is a very flexible article.

Here, as means if.

So as hy kwalifiseer means if he qualifies.

This is worth noticing because as in Afrikaans can have other meanings in other contexts, but in this sentence it is clearly introducing a condition.

Because as introduces a subordinate clause.

In Afrikaans subordinate clauses, the verb typically comes later in the clause, often at the end. In this short example, there is only a subject and a verb:

• as hy kwalifiseer

If the clause were longer, you could see the pattern more clearly:

• as hy vir die pos kwalifiseer = if he qualifies for the position

So the word order is normal Afrikaans subordinate-clause order.

Afrikaans often uses the simple present tense where English would use will, especially in conditional sentences.

So this sentence can naturally mean:

• The employer hires the candidate if he qualifies
• or, more naturally in context, The employer will hire the candidate if he qualifies

If you want to make the future extra explicit, you can say:

Die werkgewer sal die kandidaat aanstel as hy kwalifiseer.

But leaving out sal is completely normal.

It most likely refers to die kandidaat, because that makes the most logical sense in this context: the employer hires the candidate if he qualifies.

However, grammatically, hy could be ambiguous if both people are male and the context does not make it clear. If a speaker wants to remove ambiguity, they might repeat the noun:

Die werkgewer stel die kandidaat aan as die kandidaat kwalifiseer.

So the sentence is understandable, but the pronoun could be unclear without context.

Because Afrikaans verbs usually do not change according to the subject.

So you get:

• ek kwalifiseer
• jy kwalifiseer
• hy kwalifiseer
• ons kwalifiseer

This is much simpler than English, where you have I qualify but he qualifies. In Afrikaans, the verb form stays the same.

Yes. You can also say:

As hy kwalifiseer, stel die werkgewer die kandidaat aan.

That means the same thing.

This is a useful pattern to know. When the subordinate clause comes first, the main clause still keeps the finite verb early:

• As hy kwalifiseer, stel die werkgewer die kandidaat aan.

So both orders are possible.

Not necessarily.

Kwalifiseer can stand on its own when the context already makes it clear what the person qualifies for. In this sentence, it is understood that he qualifies for the post / for the role / for the job.

If you want to say it explicitly, you can add it:

Die werkgewer stel die kandidaat aan as hy vir die pos kwalifiseer.

So the shorter version is perfectly natural when the missing information is obvious.

Yes. Afrikaans often forms nouns by combining words into a single compound.

werkgewer is made up of:

• werk = work
• gewer = giver

So it literally looks like work-giver, which matches the meaning employer.

This kind of one-word compound is extremely common in Afrikaans, so it is a good pattern to get used to.