The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment invites unemployed South African youth residing in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality to apply for the Youth Graduate Project Programme 2026 / 2027.
Internship Application Closing Date: 14 August 2026 at 16:00
Internship Location: Lejweleputswa District Municipality, Free State, South Africa
DFFE Youth Graduate Project 2026 / 2027
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment is offering 20 paid graduate placements through its Youth Graduate Project.
The programme is aimed at unemployed environmental graduates who reside within the Lejweleputswa District Municipality and want practical workplace exposure in environmental and waste-management activities.
Successful participants will work full-time for 8 months and receive:
R271.04 per day
Programme Overview
Organisation: Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment
Programme: Youth Graduate Project 2026 / 2027
Number of opportunities: 20
Location: Lejweleputswa District Municipality, Free State
Duration: 8 months
Working arrangement: Full-time, 5 days per week
Daily rate: R271.04
Target group: Unemployed South African youth
Closing date: 14 August 2026 at 16:00
Application method: Hand delivery
Fields of Placement
Successful graduates will be placed in areas including:
- Environmental Management
- Waste Management
The supplied information does not provide a detailed list of daily duties for each placement.
Minimum Qualification Requirements
Applicants should hold a recognised qualification in an environmental field, such as:
- BSc Natural Sciences
- Environmental Management
- Environmental Science
- Environmental Health
- Another relevant environmental qualification
Applicants should ensure that their qualification is relevant to the environmental work of the programme.
Residence Requirement
Applicants must reside within the:
Lejweleputswa District Municipality
Proof of residence is required.
Applicants outside the district do not meet the stated residence requirement.
Employment Requirement
The programme is aimed at:
Unemployed South African youth
Applicants should therefore be available to participate in the programme for the full 8-month period.
Programme Duration
Successful applicants will be appointed for:
8 months
The programme operates on a five-day working week.
Daily Rate
Participants will receive:
R271.04 per day
The supplied information does not state additional benefits or allowances.
Transformation Targets
The programme includes the following participation targets:
- 100% youth
- 60% women
- 2% persons with disabilities
These are programme targets and do not mean that every applicant within a target group will automatically be selected.
What Participants Will Gain
The programme is intended to provide practical workplace exposure in municipal environmental and waste-management activities.
Participants may gain experience in areas such as:
- Environmental project implementation.
- Waste-management activities.
- Public-sector workplace processes.
- Working with municipal and government stakeholders.
- Practical environmental management.
The exact duties will depend on the placement.
Required Application Documents
Applicants should submit:
- Comprehensive Curriculum Vitae.
- Certified copy of South African ID.
- Certified copies of qualifications.
- Proof of residence within Lejweleputswa District Municipality.
The supplied information also mentions a motivational letter as application guidance, but it is not clearly identified as a compulsory item in the official requirements. Applicants should prioritise the documents expressly required in the advert.
How to Apply for the DFFE Youth Graduate Project 2026 / 2027
Applications must be hand-delivered in a sealed envelope.
The envelope should be clearly marked:
Youth Graduate Project (YGP) 2026/2027 Application
Hand-deliver applications to:
Lejweleputswa District Municipality
Corner Jan Hofmeyr and Tempest Road
Welkom
9459
Free State
South Africa
Email applications are not accepted.
Internship Application Closing Date
Applications close on:
Friday, 14 August 2026 at 16:00
No late applications will be accepted.
Applicants should therefore ensure that their applications are physically delivered before 16:00 on the closing date.
Important Application Notes
Applicants should note that:
- There are 20 advertised opportunities.
- The programme runs for 8 months.
- Participants will work five days per week.
- The daily rate is R271.04.
- Applicants must be unemployed South African youth.
- Residence within Lejweleputswa District Municipality is compulsory.
- A relevant environmental qualification is required.
- Proof of residence must be included.
- Applications must be hand-delivered.
- Email applications will not be accepted.
- Late applications will not be accepted.
- Meeting the minimum requirements does not guarantee selection.
Application Checklist
Before submitting your application, confirm that:
- You are an unemployed South African youth.
- You live within Lejweleputswa District Municipality.
- You have a relevant environmental qualification.
- Your CV is updated.
- Your South African ID copy is certified.
- Your qualification copies are certified.
- Your proof of residence is included.
- Your application is placed in a sealed envelope.
- The envelope is clearly marked for the Youth Graduate Project.
- You hand-deliver the application to the correct Welkom address.
- You submit it before 16:00 on 14 August 2026.