INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT REPORT

SCHOOL OF APPLIED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED MATHEMATICS

A REPORT ON SUPERVISED

INDUSTRAL ATTACHMENT AT GHANA STATISTICAL SERVICE

TECHIMAN MUNICIPAL OFFICE

PRESENTED BY:

NAME: AGYEMAN DUAH MICHAEL

INDEX №: 04/2012/1914

DATE: FEBRUARY, 2014

DECLARATION

STUDENT: AGYEMAN DUAH, MICHAEL

I hereby declare that apart from references hereby acknowledged, this report on the industrial attachment at the GHANA STATISTICAL SERVICES – TECHIMAN MUNICIPAL OFFICE – BRONG AHAFO and presented to Koforidua Polytechnic, School of Applied Science and Technology, Department of Applied Mathematics as a partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of HIGHER NATIONAL DIPLOMA is the outcome of my investigation.

NAME: AGYEMAN DUAH, MICHAEL

I.D.: 04/2012/1914D

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This internship programme could not have materialized without acknowledging the divine protection and guidance of the Almighty God.

I sincerely thank the Management of the Techiman Municipal Assembly, most especially the Office of the Municipal Statistician.

My gratitude goes to the Assistant Director IIA (Administration), Mr. Amoako Adams and Mr. E. O. BOATENG, the Municipal Statistician for their unyielding support and advice during the period of my internship.

My final appreciation also goes to all and sundry who in various forms assisted me directly and indirectly towards a cherished practical experience of work ethics and the application of learned academic knowledge into reality.

PREFACE

The need for an industrial attachment creates the need for any discerning student to create a clear picture of what he/she has done in the form of writing (a report).

This report contains information which was gathered during my two months of industrial attachment with Ghana Statistical Service - Techiman

This includes the activities carried out by the Ghana Statistical Service, the activities I undertook, experience obtained and personal inputs.

CONTENT

-Presentation

-Preface        

-Acknowledgement-Dedication.

CHAPTER 1:

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Objectives of the supervisor Industry Attachment

1.2 Benefits to students

CHAPTER 2:

2.0 Brief Profile (History of Ghana Statistical Service)

2.1 Landmarks of statistics Development in Ghana

2.2 Statutory Functions

2.3 Role of Ghana Statistical Service with National Statistical System

2.4 Organisational structure of the Ghana Statistical Service

2.5 History of Techiman Municipal Office (GSS)

2.6 Vision of Ghana Statistical Service

2.7 Mission of Ghana Statistical Service

2.8 Core values

CHAPTER 3:

3.0Job description and duties I was assigned to

3.1 Methodology in Data collection

3.1.1 Observation

3.1.2 Participation

3.1.3 Interviews

3.1.4 Discussions

CHAPTER 4:

4.0 Knowledge / Skills / learning experience acquired

4.1 Professional

4.2 Personally

CHAPTER 5:

5.0 Conclusion and Recommendation

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

The industrial attachment training is an essential component of the curriculum of Koforidua Polytechnic which is partial fulfillment of the requirements of the award of National Higher Diploma in Statistics, Students are required to undergo an industrial attachment programme during which the students are expected to acquire additional practical experience to supplement, their programme of study in the Polytechnic. They are also exposed to the real world of work and its challenges which will prepare them towards their future careers.

This report is the outcome of the seven weeks practical training I had at Ghana Statistical Service - Techiman Municipal Office in the Brong Ahafo Region as a FIELD OFFICER. The duration of the attachment was from 6th January to 14th February 2014 but I ended on 6th of March, 2014. Work begins from 8:00 am and ends at 5:00 pm each working day.

It is said to be a supervised programme since lecturers from the Polytechnic visit the students during this period and at the end of the programme to ascertain the success of the programme and the amount of seriousness students attached to it.

OBJECTIVES OF THE SUPERVISED INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT

Some of the important objectives of the industrial attachment are as follows

Ø  To assess the interest of the student in the occupation he/she plans to undertake.

Ø  To expose the students to work methods not taught in the Polytechnic and to provide access to products equipment not normally available in the environment of the Polytechnic.

Ø  To provide the students with an opportunity to apply knowledge in real work situation thereby closing the gap between academic work and the actual practice.

Ø  To make the transition from school to the world of work smoothly and to enhance student contacts for job placement.

Ø  To enlist and strengthen employers involvement in institutional activities and in the entire educational process of preparing the students for employment in industry.

Ø  To enhance industry´s satisfaction with the graduate of the Department of Applied Mathematics and the Polytechnic at large.

BENEFITS TO STUDENTS

The industrial attachment seek to offer students a practical translation of the theory they have been taught. It has also got individual benefit of liaising the Polytechnic to the industries, hence brightening the employment chances of the students in the Polytechnic. Through this attachment, I have generated a good interpersonal relationship through my interaction with my supervisors and colleagues. This has assisted me to interact confidently with people irrespective of the position.

CHAPTER TWO

BREIF PROFILE

GHANA STASTISTCAL SERVICE

History of Ghana Statistical Service

Efforts to institutionalize the collection and dissemination of statistical information began in 1891, when the first population census in the country, then called the Gold Coast, was conducted, several decades hence, in 1948, after the end of World War II, the office of the Government Statistician was established.  The functions of the office continued to evolve and, in 1961, the office of the Government Statistician was expanded and renamed as the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).

In 1985, the Provisional National Defense Council passed the Statistical Service Law 135, which established the Ghana Statistical Service as part of the Ghana Public Service.

Landmarks of Statistics Development in Ghana

·        1891 – The first population census organized

·        1948 – Office of the Government Statistician (OGS) established as a service agency under the Ministry of Finance

·        1961 – Office of the Government Statistician expanded and renamed Central Bureau of Statistics under the Ministry of Finance (Statistics Act, 1961 Act 37);

·        1985 - /The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) was set up as part of the public services of Ghana (PNDC Law 135) replacing the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Statutory Functions

Under the Statistics Service Law 1985 (Law 135), GSS is an autonomous body with a Board of Directors who report directly to the Office of the President.

The role of the Ghana Statistical Service is broadly defined as being responsible for the collection and analysis of statistical data.

The core functions of GSS remain almost identical to that of its predecessor, the CBS (section 9 of the Act).  These core functions are:

·        Advised Government and all stakeholders on all matters relating to statistical information

·        Collect, compile, analyze, abstract and publish statistical information;

·        Conduct statistical surveys, including the population census in Ghana; and

·        Organise a coordinated scheme of economic and social statistics in Ghana.

In the course of performing its core functions, the following conditions, which existed prior to the establishment of GSS, are still in force:

·        Legal power for the collection of information of statistical purposes;

·        Penalty application to any one (individual / institution) refusing to cooperate with GSS in the performance of its functions;

·        Limitation on the GSS to disclose authorized statistical information; and

·        Some statistical works, which continue to be carried out within other MDA’s, will continue to be managed by the GSS, as coordinating authority.

The GSS has been consistent in performing its functions as required by law, and over the years, it has demonstrated its ability to provide a wide range of official statistics that serve the needs of individuals, organizations, development partners and the government.

Role of Ghana Statistical Service within the National Statistical System

Unlike in some countries where the National Statistical System (NSS) is defined by a legal framework and institutional arrangements for the collection, compilation, dissemination and use of official statistics, the NSS in Ghana is not explicitly mentioned as an institution in any legislative document but merely implied.  In the legislative instruments that established and gave legal backing to the successive central statistical agencies in the country to produce official statistics the central statistical agency, i.e., the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and subsequently GSS is not only given the mandate for the production and dissemination of official statistics in Ghana, but is also required to coordinate and collaborate with MDA’s and other organizations that produce official statistic.  Hence, the NSS in Ghana includes all MDA’s responsible for gathering statistical data through surveys or administrative action as well as suppliers of information, users and researchers.

The GSS is the key public agency responsible for producing official statistics in the country.  It is also tasked to provide the coordinating mechanism within the NSS to ensure that data and resources can be shared between development sectors effectively and efficiently.  The GSS and the MDA’s, either independently or collaboratively, have been producing statistics and indicators in several broad areas.  The MDA’s produce statistical data mainly in the areas that are in line with their mandates; while the GSS, independently or in collaboration with MDA’s, is required to produce statistical data in all the broad areas.  The mandate of GSS also extends to dissemination of other critical statistical data in defined under the Ghana Statistical Service Law of 1985.  The outcome of the coordination is thus to ensure effective working relationships among the constituent stakeholders, namely the producers of statistics on the one hand and the other groups of users, suppliers, and providers of statistics, as well as the research and training institutions.

Coordination the NSS within the current arrangement has presented practical difficulties for GSS.  The statistical data that is independently produced, either by the GSS or the MDA’s are packaged and released independently, resulting in duplications, and often inconsistencies, in some of the data.  The GSS takes particular exception to these problems, as Coordinator of the NSS.

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Organizational Structure of the Ghana Statistical Service

The head of the GSS is the Government Statistician, with two deputies.  The organization is comprised of 11 Divisions, 35 Sections and 4 specialised units.  In addition, the GSS has 10 Regional Offices headed by Regional Statisticians.  Currently, GSS has offices in the remaining districts over the next five years, in line with the Ghana Government’s decentralization process.

The organizational structure of the GSS is described below.

Economic Statistics Division has three sections – the National Accounts Statistics, Price Statistics, and Financial Statistics sections.

Industry and Trade Division has four sections – Trade, Industrial, Agricultural and Transport and Communication Statistics sections.

Social Statistics Division has five sections, Culture and Tourism, Education, Crime and Judicial, Labour, and Health, Environment and Nutrition.

Demographic Statistics Division has two Sections and a specialized unit – Vital Statistics, Population Statistics and Population Projection and Estimates Unit.

Analytical Studies and Development Division is made up of three sections – Economic and Social Analytical Studies, Welfare Measurement and Monitoring, and Statistical Standards, Methods and Sample Design sections.

Statistical Coordination and Capacity Building Division has two sections – the Statistical Policy Planning and Coordination and Capacity Building and Regional Offices sections.

Information Technology Division has four sections – the Data Processing, Data Systems and Application Development, Data Storage Archival and Retrieval, and Electronic Office Equipment and Maintenance sections.

Publicity and Dissemination Division consists of three sections – Administration, Estate and Maintenance, and Transport sections.  The Division provides support services to facilitate mainstream activities of the Service.

Finance and Property Division is a support division made up of two sections – stores and Accounts.

The Specialised Units are GhanaInfo, Project Monitoring, Audit, Procurement and Protocol.  These specialized units are under the office of the Government Statistician, Figure 1 shows the current GSS Organisational Chart.

GHANA STATISTICAL SERVICE – TECHIMAN MUNICIPAL OFFICE

The department was created to help gather information in the municipality, its environs and the country as a whole. It has been headed by three directors namely, Mr. Kwame Sakyi, Mr. Andrews Ankomah and currently Mr. E. O. Boateng (Municipal Statistician) to determine the form and nature of statistics to be collected and report on, promote the effective use of statistics and stimulate research activities in all fields of statistics and advise the municipal co-ordinating director on all matters relating to statistics.

The services of the Statistical Service also collect primary data on prices of goods and services on some selected products and services for the Consumer Price Index for the calculation of inflation rate of the municipality and the country. This data is collected in the first and third week of every month.

The Statistical Service also collaborates with other developing partners, international bodies, research institutions and private individuals by satisfying their data needs.

The Statistical Service Department is also responsible for keeping of statistical data about the municipality and its environs.    

VISION

GSS will be the country’s leader in the production of official statistics, providing stakeholders will high quality statistical data.

MISSION

The GSS is committed to effectively and effectively collect, compile, evaluate and disseminate quality statistical data, consistent with international accept methodology and standards.  The relevant statistical data will be promptly made available to the board spectrum of public and private stakeholders, for the purposes of good governance and informed decision-making on critical social development, as well as economic growth initiatives.

GSS will provide strategic leadership and coordination in the development and use of statistics within the National Statistics System.

CORE VALUES

Our core values are essential to achieving high performance levels and as a result, we are striving to create an orgainsation that will foster:

·        Professionalism

·        Integrity

·        Accountability

·        Relevance

CHAPTER THREE

JOB DESCRIPTION/DUTIES I WAS ASSIGNED TO

The expectation that the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) will make District-specific Socio-economic data available while at the same time facilitating the capacity building of the District Assemblies to manage their own statistical requirement is paramount. District Statistical Offices are the responsibility of Regional Offices of the GSS, which are present in all the 10 Administrative Regions of the country.  Each District office is mandated by the Regional Statistician to some specific job assignments.

The Techiman Municipal Statistical Office amongst other core duties or assignment is to collect, compile and mange data collected from the Consumer Price Index data and Product Price Index from selected shops/outlets, the main market centre and other service institutions.

 On my arrival, I was warmly welcomed by the Municipal Statistician in the person of Mr. Emmanuel Owusu Boateng. I was then introduced to the Assistant Director IIA (Administration), Mr. Amoako Adams and the Head of Human Resource Unit, Miss Mercy Konadu. I was oriented on the rules and regulations on collection and management of data. I was shown the two main questionnaires used.

I started with the calculation of averages for the previous data collected for Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI).

During my attachment programme, I was assigned to join the Municipal Statistician to visit selected shops/outlets, market centre and other government and private institutions to collect monthly data on selected goods and service pertaining to prevailing prices for the calculation of CPI and PPI.

After the collection of the data, I entered it into the computer and after analyzing the data with the Municipal Statistician, copies are made after which is sent to the Regional Office. I also edited the questionnaire thus; outlets which do not have items (Products) or do not deal with the assigned product were replaced with either new outlets or new products.  

Occasionally, I was tasked to attend assembly meetings to represent the Municipal Statistical Officer in his absence and also to accompany him. I was also asked to write Field Reports and forwarded to the Municipal Statistical Officer.

I also retrieved secondary data from the computer to international bodies, research institutions and private individuals (clients) and dispatching of official letters to selected institutions to allow us to collect data from them were also duties that were performed by me.

METHODOLOGY IN DATA COLLECTION

In order to ensure the success and effectiveness of this work I adopted the following methods.

OBSERVATION

This method was used to study some of the activities that go on in the Municipal Office of GSS.

PARTICIPATION

This method was used to acquire knowledge on the use of computer software, data entry and analysis and questionnaire administering.  

INTERVIEWS

Interaction is a very strong method for gathering information, and hence some information and clarification of certain information was done using this method.

Specifically, the activities undertaken by GSS are gathered through this method.

DISCUSSION

This method was employed to gather some of the activities going on in the real world by GSS.

CHAPTER FOUR

KNOWLEDGE / SKILLS / LEARNING EXPERIENCE ACQUIRED

Professionally, I had the opportunity to practically feel some of the academic work I acquired from school during the attachment programme. Examples are Questionnaire administration, Personal interviews, Data capturing onto computers and management of recorded data.  Report writing of field exercises, Meeting proceedings, Respondent’s fatigue; leading to physical and verbal abuse, Respect for the privacy of others and the promises of confidentiality given to respondents and retrieving of secondary data from the computer to clients cannot be over emphasized. Also, I learnt that, statistical agencies need to decide according to strictly professional considerations which include scientific principles, on the methods and procedures for the collection, processing, storage and presentation of statistical data. As the Municipal Statistician use to say; “Fake facts and figures and statistics will embarrass you”.

Personally, My confidence level has improved greatly. My interactions with people (respondents) and top officials paved some social contacts for me. Good friends were made, efforts to understand people and ability to use and manipulate electronic gadgets. Working under stress conditions could not be overlooked.

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

In conclusion, the supervised industrial attachment of the Polytechnic gives students the opportunity to apply knowledge in real work, exposing students to work methods not taught in the Polytechnic and provide access to products equipment not available in the Polytechnic as well as assessing students’ interest in the occupation he/she plans to undertake.

Undoubtedly, the impact of this attachment with the Ghana Statistical Service cannot be quantified. The attachment has made me gain some practical knowledge and experiences in my field of study (statistics) as well as enriching me with the interaction with the business world. It has also instilled in me some more integrity especially punctuality, being submissive to and taking the views of superiors, more tolerant, respectful and hardworking, the programme should therefore be maintained and the period extended.

Since the experience for these few weeks was enormous I recommend that:

Ø  The attachment is very beneficial to students as it assists them to blend academic work with that of the industry therefore much importance must be given to attachment by students.

Ø  The periods for the attachment should be increased, that is to say; the Third Trimester Field Practical Programme should be legally amended if not completely given way to the Practical Industrial Attachment Programme.

Ø  Since the attachment is a supervised programme, visiting supervisors should please visit students on their places of attachment to ensure proper assessments students