REPORT ON STUDENT INDUSTRIAL WORK EXPERIENCE SCHEME (SIWES)

TRAINING PROGRAMME

AT
[OFFICE OF THE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT OF AKROFUOM CONSTITUENCY,6 TH
FLOOR, WEST WING PARLIAMENT HOUSE, ACCRA GHANA, parliament.gh]

BY
NAME: [ALOYSIUS NATHANIEL APPIAH KUBI]
INDEX NO: [UED2708820]

PROGRAMME: [DIP INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY]

FROM: [……. NOVEMBER 2021 TO……DECEMBER 2021]

UNIVERSITY OF ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, SUNYANI

SCHOOL OF SCIENCES

BEING A REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND

INFORMATICS IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
STUDENT INDUSTRIAL WORK EXPERIENCE SCHEME

[………………………………………………..]

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BEING AN INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT COMPLETED AT
THE
OFFICE OF THE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT OF
AKROFUOM CONSTITUENCY,
WEST WING PARLIAMENT HOUSE, ACCRA GHANA
BY
ALOYSIUS NATHANIEL APPIAH KUBI

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 Dedication
This piece of work is dedicated to my parent Hon Maurice Jonas Woode for
this wonderful support and advice and to my parents as well. May the Lord
bless and keep you all!

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 Acknowledgement
My greatest acknowledgement goes to God almighty for how far he has
brought me in the development of this report. None would have been
accomplished without him. My sincere gratitude also goes to the Member of
Parliament of Akrofuom Constituency, Hon Alex Blankson for his guidance
and unrelenting mentorship during the entire period of the attachment.

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 Table of Contents
Title Page
Cover Page 1
Dedication 2
Acknowledgement 3
Table of Contents 4
Chapter One: Introduction 5-7
Chapter Two: [Name of Organisation] 8-11
Chapter Three: Activities during the Industrial Attachment 12-17
Chapter Four: Skills and Knowledge Acquired 18-21
Chapter Five: Problems Encountered 22
Chapter Six: Recommendation and Conclusion 23

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 Chapter One: Introduction

Overview
The general objective of this course is to assign students to collaborating
institutions on industrial attachment for practical training, skills and professional
development. Each student will be attached to Institution Supervisors who will go
round the places of attachment and assess students’ performance and progress.
There are also supervisors for the students at the place of attachment who also send
their assessments under confidential cover. Students come back to campus to make
a final presentation of their experiences on attachment and present written reports
for assessment.

Goals of the Industrial Attachment Policy in Ghana:

1. Enhance student's exposure to new scientific and technological equipment
and how to manipulate them
2. Reinforce theoretical instruction through the use of applied learning facilities
3. Provide opportunities to enable students interact and share experiences and
ideas with those in industry on issues relating to safety precautions,
industrial health, environmental pollution and culture of work in industry
4. Empower students in acquiring practical skills and sharpen old ones by
trying their hands on machines and equipment related to their courses of
study
5. Stimulate students' critical thinking abilities and understanding of the
problems and contributions of industry to national development
6. Help institutions to identify problems associated with its curriculum and
review it to meet current and future workplace requirements

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The purpose of this INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT WORK SCHEME is to
expose students to the economic world as well as equip students with the
needed hands-on, skills, practicalities, changeabilities as well as
complexities associated with the world of work. It introduces students to the
nitty-grtties and the pros and cons of the industry. The industrial attachment
scheme doesn’t only teach students about the economic world, it in various
ways prepares and gives the individual an opportunity to access
himself/herself on his readiness to work. The industrial attachment scheme
gives the student the chance to ask some of the very difficult questions of
life. Am I ready to work a 9 to 5? Can I handle responsibility? Am I ready
for responsibility at all? Students often think it’s a routine of life to work
right after completing school. And they often go into the economic world
unprepared but the introduction of this industrial attachment work scheme
gives them a practical experience on what to expect in the world of work.
During this period, each student is attached to Institution Supervisors who
will go round the places of attachment and assess students’ performance and
progress.
There are also supervisors for the students at the place of attachment who
also send their assessments under confidential cover. Students come back to
campus to make a final presentation of their experiences on attachment and
present written reports for assessment.

The training lasted for two (2) months from 1st November to 24th
December 2021 which involved the students, universities and the industries.
The internship program is meant to assess the intern’s ability in applying the
theoretical knowledge learnt in the classroom in a practical situation in their
respective fields ahead of real opportunities as well as increasing their skills
and accustoming interns to the working environment in their various fields
of work.

It is also a partial requirement for students at University of Energy and

Natural Resources (UENR) pursuing a Dip. Information Communication and
Technology. Internship program has become the bridge for those who want
to enter corporate level from the University life. Through internship, I got to

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 know the real working environment that was very much different from my
course study.

During my internship at the parliament house, I got the chance to work in the
research and development department at the office of the Member of Parliament of
Akrofuom Constituency.
The functions of a research and development department are to engage in new
product research and development, existing product updates, quality checks and
innovation. The functions of this department are closely related to the functions of
the sales, production and other divisions, requiring collaboration. The department
is crucial in developing new products that are competitive in the market through
extensive product and market research.

Before the development of a new product, the research and development

department conduct extensive research to support the product, which includes
product specifications, product costs and production time lines. A thorough
evaluation of the need for the product in the market is also conducted as part of the
research to determine the relevance of the new product before the development
phase commences.

The development phase deals with the creation of the product from the
specifications established during the research function, and the products are also
developed to meet all regulatory requirements. Regular updates of a company’s
existing products are also done by the research and development department to
ensure that the products are still functional and upgrades are done whenever
appropriate

. The department also handles quality checks within most companies since they are
extremely familiar with the specifications of the company’s products. Innovation
by the department also helps the company to stay competitive.

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 Chapter Two: [OFFICE OF THE MEMBER OF
PARLIAMENT OF AKROFUOM CONSTITUENCY]
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BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PARLIAMENT HOUSE
(GHANA)

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Ghana achieved Independence on 6th March, 1957. The political struggles that
preceded this historic event date back over a hundred years.
 

The early period of nationalist struggle for political independence created political
awareness and desire to assert the right of self-determination both for the
individual and the State.

As far back as 1850, Ghana, then The Gold Coast, was given its own Legislative
Council to advise the colonial Governor in enacting legislation mainly in the form
of Ordinances "for the peace, order and good government of the subject." The
Legislative Council was purely advisory as the Governor exercised all legislative
and executive powers.

In 1916 the Legislative Council was reconstituted to include nine nominated

officials, six of whom were Africans, as opposed to eleven officials and the
Governor. The first Legislative Council elections ever to be held took place in
1925 under the Guggisberg Constitution. Under this arrangement the Governor still
retained complete control of legislation.

Under the 1946 Bums Constitution which replaced the Guggisberg Constitution,
the representatives of the people formed the majority in the Legislative Council.
The Governor ceased to be ex-officio President of the Legislative Council and an
unofficial Member was appointed President. This system continued until 1951
when the Legislature elected its first Speaker under the 1950 Constitution.

In 1951 the first large-scale elections to the Legislative Assembly took place when
75 Members were elected. There were three nominated ex-officio Members and six
special Members representing commercial and mining interests.

The 1954 transitional Constitution provided for an Assembly of a Speaker and 104
Members elected on party lines on the basis of universal adult suffrage.

In 1957, when Ghana achieved full political Independence, the constitution was
fashioned after the Westminster model. In June, 1960, ten women were elected by
the National Assembly to fill specially created seats. This was done to expose
women to parliamentary life. This system of election was not intended to be
permanent. The Act made no provision for filling a vacancy caused by death,
resignation or expulsion of a woman Member.

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On 1st July, 1960 Ghana became a sovereign unitary Republic. In February, 1964
Ghana adopted a one-party system of Government. The First National Assembly of
the Republic was, dissolved in 1965 and a general election in which all the 198
Members, all of them Members of the national party, the convention People’s
Party (C.P.P.) were elected unopposed. The 1964 Constitutional Amendments
among other things increased the powers and prerogatives of the President.

In February, 1966 the First Republican Government was overthrown by a military

coup which installed a military government that remained in power up to
September, 1969, when, on its own volition, it handed over power to another
constitutionally elected government, and thereby restored parliamentary rule once
again.

After only 22 months in office the second parliamentary democracy also

succumbed to another military rule between January 1972 and October 1979, when
under much political pressure, that military government was compelled to usher in
the Third Republican parliamentary system. In December 1981 parliamentary
democracy was once more thrown into cold storage as a result of yet another
military coup. However, the country returned to constitutional rule again on 7th
January, 1993.

VISION OF THE OFFICE OF THE MEMBER OF

PARLIAMENT OF AKROFUOM CONSTITUENCY

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The Office exists to facilitate, coordinate, monitor and evaluate strategies for the
execution of government business in Parliament and guarantee good governance
through dialogue and consensus building, with the deployment of skilled human
resources and modern technology for national development.

Some functions of the organization include

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 Initiate and formulate policies, considering the needs and aspirations of the
people
 Undertake development planning in consultation with the constituent’s
Development Planning Commission
 Serve as the interface between the constituents and Parliament
 Monitor and evaluate the implementation of Government Plans, Programs
and Strategies.
 Undertake such research as may be necessary to enhance the collaboration
between Parliament and the constituency.
 Provide strategic leadership for the development of the medium-term plan of
Parliament in consultation with NDPC
 Facilitate the development and implementation of citizen centered
collaborative interface with other state and non-state actors on matters
relating to the Legislature.

The Organizational Structure of

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 MEMBER OF
PARLIAMENT

PERSONAL
ASSISTANT

FINANCIAL
IT
DEPARTMENT
DEPARTMENT
T
DEPARTMENT

RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPME
SECRETARY

FRONT OFFICE

Chapter Three: Activities during the Industrial

Attachment

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During the 2-month industrial attachment program, the following activities
were executed for my benefit:

 Attending department meetings every morning from Monday to

Friday. The Research and Development department used to have
meetings among members to facilitate good relations as well bring out
any pertinent challenge the department might be facing of which I was
appointed to sit in every meeting. Notes were taking to implement
them in upliftment of the department and constituency as a whole.

 As a Research Assistant, I was responsible for gathering accurate,

credible information on a subject and summarizing their findings to
support senior research staff in all fields. These included browsing
archives for information, completing literature reviews and
conducting research interviews.

 I was implored to study the various concerns and issues that needed
critical attention. I helped brainstorm research topics and use guidance
to find relevant resources in libraries and archives including the world
wide web. This involves developing research questions based on very
critical areas of concern.

 I worked to validate a certain hypothesis or understand the reason

behind contradictory findings. I reviewed current publications to

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 determine what information already exists on a topic, processing large
amounts of text, technical writing and primary resources. I also helped
conduct original research, gathering data, administering surveys and
supervising researches based on instruction from their supervisor.

 I possessed a wide set of skills to perform the work well. I had

exceptional communication skills since I needed to lead interviews
and communicate complex technical information in the simplest way
possible.

During my industrial internship, I came across these wonderful workers who

made me feel comfortable with such enormous experiences. The following

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are the names of the workers I was engaged with in projects during my
internship at the research and development department and how each one of
them assisted me in the different fields; Mr Raymond Osei Appiah, Mr
Jacob Nyantakyi.

The senior researcher, ; Mr Raymond Osei Appiah assigned me to go on

field to communicate with inhabitants of the township and gather pressing
complaints from them. I was accompanied by my supervisor Mr Frank so as
to help improve my confidence and correct me if and where necessary.

Mr Jacob taught me about the act of critically analysing and solving a

problem. As time went by, I mastered the analytical and problem-solving
skill coupled with the ability to stay calm under pressure.

During my period as research assistant, I was pushed and challenged to

always base the conclusions of my findings on an extensive survey and
research. Which also granted me the opportunity to have an unimaginable
amount of knowledge in the areas of paralysis we faced as a nation.

Where there is learning taking place, there should be an instructor, for this
reason, the intern was assigned to Atta Foster as the internal supervisor who
performed the following task:
 He conducted general orientation for me for the purpose of
familiarizing the me to the working environment.
 He gave me practical assignments on areas of concern to measure
whether I had understood the subject matter.
 The internal supervisor gave me explanations and guidance on issues
which were not perceptible by the my, such as the mission statement,
goal and the vision of the MP’s office.

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  To ensure quality of service rendered by the student to the office and
to regulate the behaviour of the student and department, disciplinary
actions were taken if necessary.

 To complete and return to the university a student’s assessment form.

 The work place supervisor is expected to take care of any practical

problem that may prevent the student from being a good participant
during the industrial training exercise.

 To ensure that the student understands the relevant policies of the

department concerning his or her working processes, procedures and
any other important matters in the department that may be deemed fit
for the student to know.

 Reviewing and signing on the internship daily reports and the overall
internship logbook.

Chapter Four: Skills and Knowledge Acquired

The knowledge and skills acquired during the course of my attachment at the
Office of the Member of parliament for Akrofuom Constituency form the

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bedrock of my future career development. The strategies learnt in speaking,
discussing and tackling issues of concern to people and the entire activities
will go a long way in ensuring my application of the knowledge and skills in
any entity and undertaking that I may find myself into. Therefore, I am
confident in applying the knowledge I have learnt in any company that may
give me an opportunity to offer my services in my career.
With the profile of skills gained, I have learnt;
 To critically analyse and solve problems.

 The ability to stay calm under pressure.

 Extensive knowledge in the area being researched.

 Time-management skills.

 The ability to empathize with others.

 The ability to commit to lengthy, complex projects.

 To use organization and planning skills.

 To have the outstanding people skills and communication skills.

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  To apply mature personality and can work with minimal supervision.

 Important team work is in work place.

 Strategy for utilization of contacts established during the attachment.

During my attachment at the One Click Computers, I was lucky to establish

contacts with the following Key personnel
Hon Alex Blankson (MP for Akrofuom Constituency)
Mr Raymond Osei Appiah (Head of the Research and Development
department) and other
Employees

They were friendly; I was indebted for their help and assistance during the
industrial attachment period.

Chapter Five: PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED

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The first day of doing new things in new environment is not an easy task
because of new responsibility that is not routinely done but I tried all my
best for that the following are some of the problems encountered during my
internship period. There is no doubt that the internship environment is
changing. Jobs that used to be entry level have turned into internships with
no paid vacation or benefits. Any job will have challenges, but after two
months of my own internship experience, I found out that there are some
common intern challenges in my internship

a) Busy working environment.

Because interns are just glad to get a foot in the door, at my internship place
sometime they used to take advantage of me as intern by giving me very
long hours of dull repetitive work which required to work even in the
weekend in order to meet the deadline.
b) Lack of enough cooperation.
Sometimes I faced problem with my co-workers; it was not often to
happen but it arrived that there was no enough collaboration about some
staff issues.

c) Instead of constant flow of electricity, were experiencing load shedding

which at times slowed our work.

Chapter Six: Conclusion and Recommendation

Conclusion

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I had a wide range of communication skills and possessed knowledge about
research and related tasks. The field attachment period allowed me to apply
the knowledge taught by the university. I really enjoyed working on real
projects. The field supervisors were very helpful and offered great guidance.
This helped me to learn a lot and refine my knowledge and skills as
indicated throughout this report. I wish if the time span for internship should
be extended. I must propagate on the time I spent training in the research
department is one of the best learning and working experiences in the field
of information technology in my life.
Not only did I gain practical skills but also had the opportunity to meet many
more experienced and fantastic people. University of Energy and Natural
Resources sends out students for field attachment with the main objective of
enabling the students to get hands-on real-life experiences in environments
they are expected to work in when they graduate.

The office of the Member of Parliament of Akrofuom was well prepared to

take on the student for field attachment in the position of a Research
Assistant.

Recommendations
 Serious supervision to the workers and students; the department should
increase and ensure more supervision over the employees in order for
them to work effectively and also to eliminate workers who relax, work
lazy and perform inactively.
 The intern recommends the university to carry out constant supervision
and monitoring of students during the internship training to encourage
them to perform duties assigned them fully as well as accurately.
 The intern would also recommend the MP’s office to continue giving
internship placements to as many students as they can for them to have
the peremptory spirit when they get actual job.

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 The university should help students to secure internship positions
according to their respective programs undertaken at the university
through giving students’ recommendations in order to ease their training
periods and also avoid the ache gotten by students in search of internship
placements.
 The university should not wait until the end of the semester before
allocating students to their supervisors.

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