Reducing Unemployment Rate in South Africa through Establishment of Graduate Internship Programmes (GIP)

South Africa is faced with unemployment crisis. Statistics South Africa reports unemployment rate between 2000 and 2015 as follows, The jobless rate in South Africa increased to 25.5 percent in the third quarter of 2015 from 25 percent in the previous period. The number of unemployed rose 3.6 percent while employment went up at a slower 1.1 percent and more people joined the labor force. Unemployment Rate in South Africa averaged 25.27 percent from 2000 until 2015, reaching an all-time high of 31.20 percent in the first quarter of 2003 and a record low of 21.50 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008. One of the key contributing factors to the issue of unemployment is lack of work experience required by organizations. This requirement often impact newly graduated students who are looking for employment. Government institutions and private organizations are addressing this challenge by instigating graduate Internship programmes to provide work experience to newly graduated students. These Internship Programmes are designed to close the gap between theory learned at the University and workplace requirements. This paper aims to explore conceptual possibilities available to enhance the effectiveness of Graduate Internship Programmes while contending the significance of increased unemployment rate in South Africa.