DEA annual internship intake availability status Internships intake for the year 2015 have been concluded. The advertisements for internships are made by means of the print media/ national newspapers and are released towards the last quarter of the year annually. The departmental recruitment and selection processes apply.
The department offers internships to previously disadvantage South African students; the purpose of the programmes is to establish an effective system for continuous development of skilled and experienced candidates for future appointments and mobility in both the public and private sector.
The Department of Environmental Affairs’ (DEA) programme seeks to achieve the following objectives:
- Enhance youth development and employability
- Develop a culture of high quality lifelong learning within Department of Environmental Affairs
- Foster skills transfer (through coaching) from Department of Environmental Affairs’ permanent staff to interns
Procedures and information to apply
Who is eligible to apply? Consideration for interns is given to individuals who have successfully completed an undergraduate or postgraduate qualification
DEA offers internships in the following fields: - Legal
- Finance
- Administration
- Information Technology
- Development Studies/Research/Monitoring and Evaluation
- Customer Relationship Management (call centre services)
- Journalism
- Communications
- Media Studies
- Public Relations
- Environmental Science/Environmental Management
- Logistics/Procurement/Supply Chain Management
- Analytical Chemistry
- Marine Science/Zoology/Oceanography
- Town Planning
- Natural Science
- Human Resources Management
- Public Admin/Business Administration/Asset Management
- Waste and Pollution Management
Applications for the internship should include the following information to be considered: - A completed Z83 form
- Curriculum Vitae with contact details (more than one contact details)
- Certified copies of qualifications and recent academic records
- Certified copy of identity document
Environmental Careers Overview
The environment provides many exciting, interesting and satisfying career choices stretching across a tremendous range of fields and disciplines. Working in the environmental field is rewarding because you can contribute to the maintenance and conservation of essential life systems necessary for our human survival. There are two main routes which you can take:
- A social-environmental perspective
- An environmental science perspective
It is important to note that these two complement one another and effective environmental management combines both these perspectives.
- Social-environmental careers
Normally one progresses into the social-environmental perspective through a Social Science or Arts degree presented at a university. Subjects may include Anthropology, Archaeology, Development Studies, Geography and Environmental Studies, Law (Environmental Law), Journalism (Environmental Journalism) and Education (Environmental Education). Careers in this field are centred around humans and their relations with the environment, and ways of making these relations beneficial to both people and the environment.
Career path qualification:
- Community conservation and rural development
BA degree with subjects such as Anthropology, Development Studies, Geography and Environmental Studies - Environmental educators
HdipEd with subjects such as Geography or Biology
Formal Environmental Education courses pursued at postgraduate level - Environmental lawyers
BA LLB degree with Environmental Law as a subject - Environmental journalists
No formal qualification other than journalism (degree or diploma) - Cultural resource specialists
BA degree with subjects such as Archaeology, Anthropology, Political and Social Studies or Social History - Eco-tourism specialists
Tourism degree or diploma with environmental interest
- Environmental science careers
Environmental science careers start by completing a science degree at university or a relevant diploma course at technikon. Subjects in the natural sciences such as Zoology, Botany and Ecology generally lead to a career path in biodiversity conservation, but may also lead to a career in environmental management. Subjects in the physical sciences such as Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry might lead to a career path in environmental management aspects such as pollution control or waste management. Landscape architects and civil engineers pursue environmental management through ensuring that environmental concerns are brought to bear on infrastructural development.
Career path qualification
- Environmental impact assessment and environmental management
BSc degree in natural sciences with postgraduate courses in environmental management - Landscape architect
Landscape architect degree at the Universty of Pretoria or the University of Cape Town - Nature conservation
Technikon diploma in Nature Conservation or BSc degree with subjects such as Zoology, Botany, Ecology. - Specialist scientists in biodiversity e.g. marine biologist, zoologist, ecologist
- Postgraduate degrees in Zoology, Botany and Ecology, specialising in particular fields of interest
- Waste managers and pollution controllers
BSc degree with subjects such as Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Climatology
Technikon diploma or degree in Environmental Science or Engineering - Environmental engineers
Civil Engineering degree or B Tech degree in Civil Engineering
Universities and Technikons will have more information on courses and degrees.
Contact the Department of Environmental Affairs for more information as well as the requirements and timelines of the annual internship programme’s intake. The call for applications is usually sent out in September each year.
