At least 1080 interns have been approved in the 2019/2020 intake of new graduate internship programme in the public service.

In a statement signed by the secretary for labour skills and innovation Thokozile Banda, the interns are expected to report for duties on 1 November.

The interns will be working in different public offices according to the requirements of available workplaces which the ministry says were limited .

The statement appealed for support from  stakeholders who will work with the interns to ensure they settle smoothly and acquire the expected work experience.

The statement highlights that those who will fail to report for duties on the set date will be deemed as not interested in the programme and will therefore be withdrawn.

Government introduced the graduate internship programme to help graduates gain experience as they prepare  for the job market .

There were  2,227 interns in the 2018/2019 graduate intake programme.

In 2017 statistics from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) showed that unemployment rate for the youth in Malawi was  at 23 percent, slightly higher than the national unemployment rate which was  at 21 percent.