Key facts
- Status
- Applications closed
- Provider
- Department of Tourism
- Last checked
- September 2026
Applications for the Department of Tourism's 2026 to 2028 Internship Programme are closed, with interviews in March and April 2026; no dates are published for the Graduate Recruitment Programme.
VerifiedThe National Department of Tourism runs two separate routes for unemployed graduates. The Tourism Graduate Recruitment Programme places people who already hold a tourism or hospitality qualification with host employers in the industry for 12 months. The departmental Internship Programme brings graduates from a wider range of fields into the Department’s own offices as public service interns. Both pay a stipend, both are for South Africans aged up to 35, and both are advertised by the Department when a round opens rather than on a fixed calendar. This page does not cover the Department’s study bursary.
Twelve months with a tourism or hospitality host employer
The Department lists the Tourism Graduate Recruitment Programme first among its skills development programmes. Its aim is work readiness: graduates who studied tourism or hospitality but have not found work get the skills, knowledge and experience that employers in the sector expect. The year starts with a work-readiness workshop and is followed by a placement with a host employer. Participants receive a monthly stipend, and the host employer issues a certificate of completion at the end.
The Department’s selection criteria are short:
- South African citizenship, shown by a certified ID copy;
- age 18 to 35;
- a tourism or hospitality qualification, with certified copies of the certificates;
- currently unemployed, with people with disabilities explicitly included;
- proof of residence and any other relevant certificates.
A motivational letter is part of the application. Anyone who has already been through one of the Department’s learnerships or skills programmes must say so in that letter, which suggests the Department weighs previous participation when it selects. The Department does not publish the stipend amount, the number of places, which employers host graduates, or an application window. Enquiries go to skillsdevelopment@tourism.gov.za.
Public service internships inside the Department
The Internship Programme gives graduates work-based experience in the Department itself, so the fields are those of a government department rather than only tourism. The Department describes it as a way to build competencies that make interns more employable in the general labour market. Its most recent intake is the 2026 to 2028 Internship Programme. That application period has closed. The Department said it received an overwhelming response and that shortlisting would follow data capturing, with interviews in March and April 2026. It has not published the intake’s closing date, stipend or list of fields on its site.
What an internship application contains
Internship calls appear in the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) vacancy circular, on the Department’s website and on its social media platforms. An application consists of:
- a letter of application;
- the new Z83 form, available from the Department or the DPSA website;
- a curriculum vitae.
For its ordinary posts, the Department’s careers page says every field in sections A to D of the Z83 must be completed, the form initialled and signed, and emailed applications sent as one PDF with the reference number in the subject line; only shortlisted candidates submit certified qualifications. A future internship advert will carry its own instructions and reference numbers, and those override anything here.
Which route suits which graduate
| Graduate Recruitment Programme | Internship Programme | |
|---|---|---|
| Qualification | Tourism or hospitality only | Fields named in each advert |
| Workplace | Host employer in the tourism and hospitality industry | Department of Tourism offices |
| Length | 12 months | Set in each advert; latest intake named 2026 to 2028 |
| Pay | Monthly stipend | Stipend, amount set in the advert |
| Where calls appear | Department website and social media | DPSA circular, Department website and social media |
Students still studying should look at our tourism bursaries list and the Department of Tourism profile. Graduates in other fields can compare internship calls from other departments on our government internships page.
FAQs
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About Department of Tourism
National government department
The national Department of Tourism promotes responsible tourism, markets South Africa as a destination and supports growth and transformation in the tourism sector, under the Tourism Act 3 of 2014. The Department of Tourism is a separate department…
Read the full Department of Tourism profile →