E-ISSN 2281-4612 ISSN 2281-3993 Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies www.richtmann.org Vol 11 No 2 March 2022 330 . Research Article © 2022 Zethembe Mseleku. This is an open access article licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) Received: 30 November 2021 / Accepted: 11 February 2022 / Published: 5 March 2022 From Workplace to Joblessness: The Determinants of Post-Internship Graduate Unemployment in South Africa Zethembe Mseleku Faculty of Humanities, University of KwaZulu-Natal, 238 Mazisi Kunene Rd, Glenwood, Durban, 4041, South Africa DOI: https://doi.org/10.36941/ajis-2022-0055 Abstract One of the pressing concerns for governments and policy makers across the world is youth unemployment. What is even more devastating is the growing graduate unemployment, particularly in developing countries, and South Africa is no exception. Graduate unemployment in South Africa continues to increase at an alarming rate. Without drastic interventions, this socio-economic problem may sadly double in size in the next decade. Work experience programmes, such as internships, are increasingly supported to address youth unemployment, particularly among graduates. However, the effectiveness of the current interventions to the unemployment problem are questionable. This paper draws from the perspectives of 50 participants to explore the determinants of post-internship graduate unemployment. In particular, this paper adopts the lenses of mismatch theory of unemployment to explain why young people are vulnerable in the labour market irrespective of their education and work experience. The examined perspectives revealed that, beyond limited labour market demand, there is also an increasing “work experience-job mismatch” leading to post- internship graduate unemployment. Due to the number of factors, including the skills mismatch problem, the transition from higher education to full-time employment is difficult for many graduates. Keywords: Education, Employment, Graduate, Graduate unemployment, Internship 1. Introduction Youth unemployment is a major socio-economic development problem, not only in South Africa, but across the world (International Labour Organization, 2018; Pastore, 2018; Verd, 2019). Accordingly, graduate unemployment has increased overtime and consequently put policy makers, governments, and education institutions under immense pressure (Mohamedbhai, 2015; Pauw et al., 2008; Wu, 2011). Unemployment does not only negatively affect individuals, it also destroys the development prospects of nations. A growing body of research has demonstrated the negative impact of unemployment on various aspects of human life and national development (Ahn et al., 2004; Extremera & Rey, 2016; Jin et al., 1995; Oluwajodu et al., 2015). For instance, Extremera & Rey (2016) discovered that lack of life satisfaction and happiness were associated with unemployment and, consequently, the increased suicide risks. It is also evident that unemployment correlates with poor wellbeing, lack of income, lack of access to health care services and low leisure time (Ahn et al.,