Local Government Internship and Youth Graduate Employability: Perspectives of Interns, Mentors and HR Managers

Abstract

In this article, I explore the relationship between the internship programme and the prospects for youth graduate employability as perceived by interns, mentors and HR managers. Unemployment, particularly youth graduate unemployment, is a major development problem. It is worrying that unemployment continues to grow despite major interventions. Among other interventions to overcome youth graduate unemployment was an internship programme established to provide graduates with work experience meant to improve their employability. However, it remains controversial whether graduate internship increases employability prospects of the youth. In this article, I seek to solve this puzzle. A total of 50 semi-structured interviews were conducted with graduate interns and staff members of the eThekwini Municipality in South Africa to elicit data. The results indicate that internship is not always the key to employability and youth graduates often require more than just internship experience to secure employment. In this article, I therefore recommend better internship planning and development. This could improve the role of the internship in graduates’ transition to employment.