The effectiveness of internships within a selected department of the Western Cape provincial government

Abstract

The Cabinet officially assented to internship programmes in South Africa in 2002 in conjunction with and in support of the Human Resource Development for the Public Service Strategic Framework Vision as a method to alleviate unemployment amongst the young adults in the country. However, unemployment amongst the youth has continued to rise drastically. This could be an indication that internships were not managed in the way the Department of Public Service Administration (DPSA) intended. The research problem of this study focuses on the uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of internships in preparing students for the labour market. Although literature is available on internships, work-integrated learning, and similar initiatives, few research studies have dealt with the effectiveness of internship programmes. The DPSA (Department of Public Service Administration) gives a directive to the Public service departments around which their internship programmes should be governed. The literature used in this study mostly comprised of journal articles, books, other studies related to the study and governmental legislation. The research aimed to answer questions which could be most accurately answered by following a quantitative research approach. A Google forms digital questionnaire was distributed among interns at Groote Schuur Hospital comprising a sample of 76 individuals. The data was analysed using descriptive analysis. The study found that being employable in the labour market was incredibly significant to the interns. Interns indicated that they would be more employable in terms of skills and competencies developed after completion of the internship programme. The study further found that the internship programme design and intricacies had been duly met and executed by Groote Schuur Hospital. These were namely, induction, which was well attended by interns, and compensation, as most interns applied to the programme for financial reasons. Moreover, the interns preferred working under supervision and had sufficient resources to complete the required daily duties. The study also found that rotating interns through different divisions enhanced the interns’ development.