Free State Office of the Premier Graduate Internship

Written by Thabo MokoenaSenior Education Editor

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

The Office of the Premier in the Free State provincial government takes unemployed graduates into two-year internships to give them work experience in the public service. In 2026 it ran two separate intakes, both advertised on the provincial government portal, Free State Online: a Graduate Internship Programme with 20 places inside the Office of the Premier, and a Work Integrated Learning Programme that placed 50 engineering graduates in the province’s district municipalities. Both have closed.

Twenty diploma graduates in the Premier’s office

The Graduate Internship Programme runs for 24 months. The July 2026 invitation asked for holders of a National Diploma or Diploma in three chief directorates:

Applicants had to be South African citizens living in the Free State, unemployed graduates, and people who had never taken part in an internship programme before. The advert does not give a stipend amount.

Z83 form and hand delivery in Bloemfontein

The internship required the new Z83 application form, available from the Department of Public Service and Administration website or from the Office of the Premier. With it went a CV and certified copies of the senior certificate, ID, academic record and qualification; an application missing any of these was not considered. Applications had to be delivered to the Free State Training and Development Institute, 124 Nelson Mandela Drive, Brahman Building, 2nd Floor, Bloemfontein, by 4 August 2026.

Shortlisted candidates must attend an interview at a date and place the Office of the Premier sets. Appointment depends on security clearance, qualification verification and a criminal record check. The Office of the Premier writes only to shortlisted applicants, and silence for three months after the deadline means the application failed. Enquiries for the 2026 intake went to Ms Pumeza Qokola on 083 440 3383 or Mr Molise Mofokeng on 069 007 1285.

Fifty N6 engineers placed in district municipalities

Earlier in 2026 the Office of the Premier invited 50 engineering graduates to a separate Work Integrated Learning Programme. Successful applicants were appointed as interns for 24 months and placed at the five district municipalities in the Free State, with on-the-job training in technical, professional, public service and life skills. The qualification asked for was an N6 in Civil, Electrical or Mechanical Engineering. The stipend follows the revised Directive on Developmental Programmes in the Public Service, and the advert encouraged people with disabilities to apply.

Unlike the office-based internship, this intake took applications by email or hand delivery to a coordinator in each district, with an updated CV, certified qualifications, ID and academic transcripts. The coordinators and offices listed were:

• Fezile Dabi: Mr Sifiso Mokoena, Mora Building, 24 Frichardt Street, sifiso.mokoena@fspremier.gov.za
• Lejweleputswa: Mr Thabo Maropela, Office 42, Operation Hlasela Centre, Boitumelo Mall, Nkoane Road, Oppenheimer Park, Welkom, thabo.maropela@fspremier.gov.za
• Motheo (Mangaung): Ms Lintle Nkemele, 124 Brahman Building, Nelson Mandela Drive, Bloemfontein, lintle.nkemele@fspremier.gov.za
• Thabo Mofutsanyana: Mr Liphapang Liphapang, Block J, Office J1, Old Government Building, 1 Motebang Road, Phuthaditjhaba, Liphapang.liphapang@fspremier.gov.za
• Xhariep: Ms Thandi Solitswayi, Kopanong Thusanong Centre, 398 Booysen Street, Trompsburg, thandi.solitswayi@fspremier.gov.za

That round closed on 27 February 2026. Applicants who had not heard back within three weeks were to consider themselves unsuccessful.

Watching for the next Free State intake

The Office of the Premier has not announced dates for further internship intakes. Both 2026 adverts were posted on Free State Online. Students still studying can look at the Free State government bursaries, and other public-sector internships are collected on the government internships page.

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