An internship model for the Free State provincial government

Abstract

𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲: Youth unemployment in South Africa (SA) has been identified as a growing challenge that the SA Government has deemed necessary to address. Due to this challenge, there has been an increasing demand for work experience by youth graduates seeking to be employable in the SA economic market. To address this challenge, the SA Public Service introduced the Public Service Internship Programme (PSIP) as a strategy to provide unemployed youth graduates with critical and scarce skills in the public service. The study therefore aimed to identify the challenges that hamper the effective implementation of the PSIP among unemployed youth graduates in the Free State Provincial Government (FSPG). The effective implementation of the PSIP in the FSPG can only be achieved if the challenges affecting the effective implementation of the programme are identified and addressed.

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻, 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱: The research study employed a qualitative research approach and a descriptive case study design. Focus group discussions (FGDs) and semi-structured interviews were used as qualitative research instruments. FGDs were conducted with 89 unemployed youth graduates, who were divided into 8 groups. Furthermore, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 supervisors responsible for human resource development and supervision of the unemployed youth graduates and the effective implementation of the PSIP in the FSPG.

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: The research found that the PSIP in the FSPG is still faced with various challenges. These include lack of mentorship and coaching of the unemployed youth graduate interns; lack of monitoring and evaluation of the PSIP; and insufficient budget allocations for the programme to incorporate more graduate interns into training interventions and increase stipend payments for the graduate interns. It is therefore important that the FSPG creates an induction programme for the PSIP in which specific factors can be outlined. These include the internship programme policy, the stipends to be provided, contract agreements, performance expectations, and communication channels that the graduate interns can use to raise concerns and challenges experienced during the duration of the PSIP.

𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: The FSPG and other stakeholders need to realise the importance of the internship programme in career development, succession planning of the departments, and experiential learning towards the development of a capable, development-oriented state and a professional public service. It is important that the PSIP is effectively implemented to help the SA Government achieve its set goals and objectives as outlined in the National Development Plan Vision 2030. An Internship Model for the Free State Provincial Government will further support this.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: The study findings may assist the FSPG to identify the challenges affecting the implementation of the PSIP in order to make the programme more effective towards experiential learning for unemployed youth graduate interns. The study also makes recommendations to the FSPG on how to address some of the pressing challenges affecting the PSIP.