We collaborate with some incredible local organisations including NGO’s, care facilities and schools to provide a variety of meaningful social work and youth development internships. Our social work and youth development programmes are the perfect opportunity for you to build relationships with amazing children who are desperately in need of your support and care, whilst gaining practical experience to help you further your career.
Best social work and youth development development internship in Cape Town? We think so. We pride ourselves on delivering customised internship placements and on the ground support that offer life-changing, valuable professional experiences.
Our youth development and social work programmes provide you with the opportunity to use your existing skills and experience to support some of the most disadvantaged members of South African society. We collaborate with a wide range of inspiring local organisations and care homes focused on providing children from disadvantaged backgrounds with education, safety, fun, counselling, medical care, empowerment and most importantly, love and attention.
Doing a social work or youth development internship will give you the chance to positively impact the lives of those who need it the most, whilst working alongside some of the most experienced professionals in the field, who are trained to deal with challenging situations on a daily basis.
We collaborate with children’s homes, NGO’s, community centres, schools, hospitals and many more inspiring local organisations.
Read on for a full overview of the best social work and youth development internships in Africa
Here's what you can expect from the programme in a nutshell!
Of course, the list is much longer - but these are the skills our intern alumni reported back that they grew in the most!
We managed to grab some detailed interviews from previous interns on this programme, you can click on them below.
I've learned so many things since I've started my internship. I've had the opportunity to work with people from very different backgrounds from me, and I think that this is one of the most important things nowadays.
What might your programme in this career field look like? Here's how it has typically shaped up for our alumni!
Arrival & orientation. Introduction to Cape Town, your accommodation and your internship host organisation and colleagues.
Get stuck into your social work or youth development internship placement and establish yourself with your organisation. Come to our free social events.
Enjoy a great work-life balance, getting out and about to see the sites alongside working hard on your internship.
Pick up more responsibility in your internship as you prove your capability. Enjoy regular activities in Cape Town outside of work. Come to another social!
Now you're flying (metaphorically) at work, you'll be more and more autonomous. Expect to pick up even more challenges!
Internship is going swimmingly, now go and do something crazy like swimming with some great white sharks or abseiling off of a mountain.
Regularly enjoy the benefits of Cape Town and at work, gather materials needed for portfolio (e.g. references from us and provider).
Putting the finishing touches to your internship and gathering feedback from us and your internship provider for use in your academic / career portfolio. Finalise paperwork for university (if needed)
Here's what others said when they applied. Some of these people came just for this career area, some mixed it with other career fields too...
What makes our internship programmes a worthwhile investment? Here's a swift overview of what you can expect!
We have two primary programmes to suit your needs. In some instances we also offer virtual placements.
You can come for as long as you need without paying any extra fees.You'll receive the same level of support.
We are 100% on your side. We guarantee every aspect of your trip with unrivalled promises.
Need to focus on a precise niche or two? No problem! Your programme can focus on your specialist areas.
We'll help you engage with the culture and personal benefits of being in a foreign country.
Save on travel and accommodation costs, pay a far lower fee. All while building your professional network.
We will handle all aspects of academic accreditation, including direct liaison with your tutors and academic staff.
We will write full reference letters for your placement(s) to optimise future employers' first impression of you.
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Here are some current or recent internship job opportunities in this career area. We do not publish all openings - so please contact us to hear about others.
Get in touch.
We have worked very hard to streamline our process to make your experience easy, fun and highly rewarding personally and professionally. Flick through the steps below, or read about our process in more detail.
Getting your dream internship all starts with you saying hello! Just pop your details into our enquiry form and we'll reach out to schedule a conversation with you that we call a 'discovery call'.
In your discovery call, you can ask us any questions you still have. We'll talk about your options in the career fields you've told us you're interested in to help you imagine your placement and decide if our service is right for you.
If everything sounds good to you, complete your application to put into words your dream programme. This forms the basis of the 'design' of your customised placement and will be the primary framework against which we validate potentially suitable opportunities.
We maintain a large and varied network of the best organisations in Cape Town. We will identify the best potential fits for your programme goals and preferences and reach out on your behalf to assess those organisations for suitability (learn about their current projects and initiatives).
Once you've confirmed which placement offer you prefer, we'll start helping you plan the rest of your trip. We'll book your accommodation, help with your travel arrangements and provide extensive advice and information on how to get ready for your time in Cape Town. Your Bridging Gaps mentor will be on hand to make sure you're fully prepared for your placement.
Finally, every member of our team will move mountains to make sure you get what you came for and MORE! It's essential to us that you're safe, you're learning and growing in confidence and developing the most important skills for your future career.
Our programme fees are shown below, for a full description of our service offering please click to view the programme or a side-to-side comparison.
Comprehensive support
Visa & travel assist
Accommodation assistance
Social events & excursions
... and lots more
We've answered some specific questions about this internship programme below.
In South Africa, there is a great demand for volunteers of all types, especially those in the social work and youth development sector. As many government and nonprofit programs are underfunded, they lack the staff and material resources they so desperately require.
All types of social work require some practical hours of experience before obtaining a license. Examples of placements you could get involved with include, educational institutes, family and children clinics, counseling centers and youth or adult service centers. The amount of hours required depends on the type of social work role you are interested in pursuing.
The most common degree to become a social worker is a bachelor's degree in social work. Some of these courses will include psychology, humanities, public health among others. Depending on the role, one might require a masters degree and a license in social work, however this is dependent on the country you chose to practise in.
This depends on your internship organisation and your existing experience. Some of the tasks you could be involved in as a social work or youth development intern include; facilitating workshops in schools, assisting with group and individual counselling sessions, arranging activity days and fundraising events, accompanying children on hospital visits, community outreach, liaising with other care workers, creating treatment plans, playing with and reading to children, conducting research and writing proposals.
Send it to us below and we will answer ASAP.
Hi, we're really sorry but we are no longer offering internship opportunities in this career field. However, we wish you the best with your search.