An evaluation of the environmental internship programme (2005- 2013) and it’s prospects for improved graduate employability: the case of interns in the city of Cape town

Magister Artium - MAThis study evaluates the extent to which the Environmental Internship Programme has impacted upon graduate employability in the City of Cape Town. Graduate unemployment crisis has been categorized as one of the socio-economic issues affecting the nation of South Africa with graduates struggling to find jobs in the areas which they graduated from. On the other hand, organisations are suffering from a lack of skills in different spheres. In order for this gap to be bridged, human resource development strategies have been put in place for graduates such as; internships, training and learnership programmes. In 2005, the Environmental Resource Management Department (ERMD) launched a programme called the Environmental Internship Programme (EIP) to address the needs of graduates in the environmental management field. The programme is a yearlong internship aimed at bridging the gap between academic learning and the first steps of a professional career. The aim of the ERMD is to create a pool of skilled professionals to be absorbed into the city as well as provincial, national government and the private sector by making the interns better employable by the time they leave the EIP. It is against this background that this study evaluates the impact of the programme on graduate employability. Within the investigation, the researcher looked at the appropriate legislations, and policies that govern a programme of this nature. The study utilizes primary and secondary research information based on interviews and open-ended questionnaires