EFFICACY OF THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC SERVICE WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON THE NATIONAL SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT

Abstract

The public service in South Africa implements a graduate internship programme in line with a national policy and, in some instances, departmental policy. This article analyses the efficacy of internship programmes in the context of the achievement of policy imperatives, the provision of work experience and the contribution of such programmes to graduate employability. The public service requires a constant supply of skills for a professional public institution with generational competence. However, in spite of this demand, 12.5% of graduates are unemployed. Data to establish this figure was collected by means of questionnaires and interviews with interns who were contracted to the National School of Government (NSG). The questionnaires were administered to a sample of 40 graduate interns from 2010-2018 with the intention of analysing data on the basis of contractual commitments, training, conditions of service, performance management and opportunities of employability after an internship programme. The findings from 62,5% of the sample indicated that graduate interns in the NSG appreciated the effectiveness of the graduate internship programme, albeit with an opinion that certain mentoring and coaching aspects could be improved.