Student’s Internship Report

List of acronyms
DU Dwelling Unit
HCD Human Capacity Development
HLMS Household Labour Market Statistics
PSU Primary Sampling Unit
QES Quarterly Employment Statistics
QLFS Quarterly Labour Force Survey
SAS Satistical Analysis Software
SAYP Survey of Activities of Young People
STATS SA Statistics South Africa

Executive summary
The purpose of this report is to explain the tasks I have executed and what I ha
ve learned during my internship period with Statistics South Africa (STATS SA).
It is also a fulfillment for Makerere University requirement for Bachelor of sta
tistics graduation. It primarily focuses on organization profile and background
, tasks and assignments, achievements and challenges, as well as conclusion and
recommendations.
I began my internship with STATS SA on the 21st June 2010 which lasted for eight
(8) weeks, that is until 13th August 2010. I have worked with Quarterly Employm
ent Statistics and Household Labour Market Statistics (HLMS) for the eight weeks
that I have spent in with STATS SA. I have worked with Employment Stats for th
e first four(4) where I have executed tasks ranging from preparing Questionnaire
s, dispatching of Questionnaire to respondents, data collection, data capturing,
to data processing and editing.
And for the last four weeks that I have spent with HLMS, I have taken part in ta
sks ranging from listing, Publicity, on-field data collection, data Quality assu
rance and monitoring, data analysis, interpretation of figures, to preparation o
f the publication report.Working with both teams has given me the chance to lear
n and acquire more experience from most the activities undertaken in a survey or
statistical research, and to make friends and to share ideas with some of the s
taff members. Since the programme went well, there are only few challenges encou
ntered from the start of the programme to its end. And I would like to recommend
that the organization continues to give the same support and the experience to
other interns to come. All in all it was great experience working with the organ
ization, and it has given me insight on how to shape my career for greater respo
nsibilities in the near future.
Table of Contents
List of acronyms i
Executive summary ii
Chapter one 1
1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 Organization Profile and Background information 1
Chapter two 6
2.0 Tasks and Assignments 6
2.1 Tasks 6
2.1.1 Listing 6
2.1.2 Publicity 6
2.1.3 Data Collection, Capturing, Processing and Editing 7
2.1.4 Data Analysis 7
2.1.5 Report Writing 8
2.1.6 Quality Assurance and Monitoring 8
Chapter three 10
3.0 Achievements and Challenges 10
3.1 Achievements 10
3.2 Challenges 10
Chapter four 11
4.0 Recommendations and Conclusion 11
4.1 Recommendations 11
4.2 Conclusion 11
REFERENCES 13
Chapter one
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Organization Profile and Background information
Statistics South Africa is a government department accountable to the Minister o
f National Planning in the Presidency. The activities of STATS SA are regulated
by statistics Act (Act No. 6 of 1999) which ensures independence from political
interference in the production and dissemination of Official Statistics. STATS S
A produces and disseminates statistics under the broad statistical Programmes, n
amely Economic Statistics and Population and Social Statistics. Both these Progr
ammes involve data collection through censuses, surveys and administrative data
sources. So far STATS SA has produced two Censuses, one for 1999 and 2001, and c
urrently preparing for the one in 2011.
Stats SA’s mandate:
The role of statistics South Africa is to expand and deepen the evidential knowl
edge base in order for society to understand the socio-economic phenomena across
time. Under South African National Statistics System, STATS SA is to increase t
he supply of official statistics to inform development outcomes by transforming
statistical information in the public domain to official statistics. By providin
g the state with information about the economic, demographic, social and environ
mental situation, policy can be equipped with knowledge and better understand th
e options and course of action to be taken.
Vision:
STATS SA has a new vision being ‘Your leading partner in Quality Statistics’.
Aim:
The aim of STATS SA is to provide a relevant and accurate body of statistics to
inform users on the dynamics in the economy and society by applying internationa
lly acclaimed practices.
Strategic Overview:
STATS SA aims to inform South Africa’s development outcomes by leading and partner
ing in statistical production systems to provide accurate and quality statistica
l information on economic, demographic, social and environmental development in
South Africa. The information is used to inform planning, public policy and deci
sion making as well as for monitoring and evaluating Programmes. STATS SA’s overal
l strategic goal is to increase the supply of official statistics to better meet
user needs.
Clusters:
• Administration
To manage the department and provide centralized support services.
• Economic Statistics
The purpose of Economic statistics is to produce economic statistics to meet use
r requirements.
It publishes information on quarterly and annual gross GDP estimates, and employ
ment and earnings, industry and trade, and financial statistics.
It also provides information for inflation targeting and on the changing cost of
living by improving the measurements of price changes in the economy. Quarterly
Employment Statistics is under Economic Statistics cluster.QES is a business su
rvey responsible for estimating employment and gross earnings and to estimate ke
y economic statistics on Average Monthly earnings that are all mainly used to mo
nitor economic indicators of South African economy. It is a survey of enterpris
es in the formal non-agricultural business sector of South Africa’s economy.
It collects information on the number of employees, gross earnings paid, bonuses
paid, over-time payments, and severance, termination and redundancy payments pa
id to employees for each month of the reference quarter.
• Population and Social Statistics
This cluster is responsible to produce population, demographic, labour market, a
nd social statistics to meet user requirements in line with internationally accl
aimed practices.
It provides regular information on labour market, vital registrations, living co
nditions, and service delivery; and information on population dynamics and demog
raphic trends. HLMS’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey is a household based sample su
rvey that covers non-institutionalized population, persons living in private dwe
lling units within institutions, except for workers’ hostels. QLFS collects quarte
rly information about persons(individuals aged 15 years and above in SA) in the
labour market and publishes statistics on key labour market indicators and other
statistics in relation to labour four weeks after each quarter and an annual re
port is published six months after the end of each calendar year.
• Methodology and Standards
Its purpose is to provide expertise on quality and methodology for official stat
istics. It improves the comparability and accuracy of information by reviewing a
nd auditing methodological compliance in three survey areas and applying appropr
iate quality criteria, standards, classifications and procedures.
• Statistical Support and Informatics
The purpose of this cluster is to optimize the use of technology in the producti
on and use of official statistics and promote and provide better access to offic
ial statistics. Geography services, provides a mapping and information service t
o the department and other users. Publication services, provides editing and dis
tribution services to survey areas. Data Management and Technology, provides tec
hnology infrastructure for the department and supports data management across st
atistical series.
• Corporate Relations
This cluster is there to provide statistical information to support policy-maker
s, and also to manage stakeholders and interact with international statistical a
gencies. It also provides effective communication activities. It also provides a
n integrated data collection services and disseminate quality statistics through
statistical technical support services to provincial and local stakeholders. In
ternational Relations, manages relations with international statistical agencies
.
• Survey operations
It is there to provide collection and processing support to produce official sta
tistics. It also ensures the efficiency and effectiveness of survey operations b
y coordinating and integrating household survey operations annually. Census and
Community survey Operations, conducts periodic population censuses and surveys.
Stakeholders:
STATS SA interacts with a range of stakeholders from whom information is collect
ed, and to whom information is supplied. Key stakeholders include:
• Government
• The public
• The media
• Business
• The academic sector
• Parliamentarians
• Non-government Organisations, etc

Chapter two
2.0 Tasks and Assignments
2.1 Tasks
I took part in several tasks during my internship program at STATS SA which invo
lves almost all activities in a survey. During my internship program, I worked t
he first four weeks in QES under the supervision of Jane Khosa, who is the surve
y officer. I spent the last for weeks with QLFS, where I have worked under the s
upervision of Desiree Moiloe, who is a Chief Survey Statistician in the division
I have learned and gained experience in the following activities:
2.1.1 Listing
I participated in listing all the structures in Faunapark PSU, a formal settleme
nt in Capricon District of Limpopo province in South Africa with the purpose of
designing the Master sample for the PSU. It was an interesting exercise; we list
ed the PSU by Blocking listing procedure since it was an urban formal settlement
.
2.1.2 Publicity
I also took part in publicity for QLFS of the third Quarter. We first visited th
e Gatekeeper in the Area to make them aware of our presence and then the six DU
s to inform the occupants of those selected DU s at Mafefe PSU about the survey
that is to take place and that their cooperation is sought in providing the requ
ired information for the survey (QLFS). This gave a chance to interact with the
Respondents prior data collection.

2.1.3 Data Collection, Capturing, Processing and Editing

For the first two weeks of my internship program, I took part in collection of i
nformation from the enterprises selected for QES survey. We collected informatio
n on the number of employees, gross earnings paid, bonuses paid, over-time payme
nts, and severance, termination and redundancy payments paid to employees for ea
ch month of the reference quarter using self-administered Questionnaires that ar
e went sent out to the respondents by post, email or fax. I have also taken part
in capturing the collected information, processing, and editing. And I have als
o collected data for QLFS survey on the field where we visited sampled DU’s to col
lect information on number of people in a household, number of the ‘working age po
pulation’ , educational levels of all members of a sampled DU, economic activities
of the ‘working age population’, unemployment and inactivity for ‘working age populat
ion’.
2.1.4 Data Analysis
I was taken through basic SAS data analysis, generating frequency tables and the
Descriptives, and was also taken through on some of the labour market indicator
s are being compiled. I also got a chance to generate pivot tables using Microso
ft Excel as part of assigned tasks and compilation of figures per Stakeholder’s re
quests. Though I didn’t have any knowledge of SAS, was able to grasp the procedur
es easily through the help of my immediate supervisor, Desitree Moiloe whom pres
ented it well to me.
2.1.5 Report Writing
I was assigned a task of preparing or editing part of the publication report for
QLFS release of the second Quarter June 2010 and was also taken through on how
to interpret data, tables, or figures. And I also helped in preparing field atta
chment report from Limpopo province; where we (me and Desiree Moiloe) were repor
ting on the tasks, findings, challenges and recommendations from our trip from L
impopo Province. Having taken a part in compiling such a report has prepared me
to be able to in a better position to compile reports.
2.1.6 Quality Assurance and Monitoring
We (me, Desire and the quality assurance manager) visited Ga-Rakgwatha suburb w
here we verified information collected for SAYP from three DU s which were selec
ted for quality assurance; the selected DU’s were visited and we re-interviewed ch
ecking disparities from the information already given. We have also visited West
ernbug suburb where we verified information collected for SAYP from three DU s w
hich were selected for quality assurance. I have also taken part in monitoring d
ata collection in Seshego surbub in Limpopo Province. In general we were checkin
g the collected data for completeness, relevance, consistence, and in general it
s quality. It was an interesting experience at the same time ensuring that STATS
SA continue producing quality statistics.

Chapter three
3.0 Achievements and Challenges
3.1 Achievements
• Being given the chance to work with both divisions had easy for me to learn in a
broader scale most of the activities undertook in a survey or statistical organ
ization.
• Working with the field team has given me a chance to learn and experience on the
activities they carry out and the challenges they encounter.
• Having learned to analyze data using SAS software and getting familiar with most
of STATS SA’s statistical applications is more of an achievement for me.
• Through this programme I had the chance to interact with most of the staff membe
rs in the organization.
• This programme also enriched my Curriculum Vitae in way.
• It benefited me in all spheres of life.
3.2 Challenges
When I first reported at the organisation, I didn’t know who I was to work with, i
n which division and what exactly my duties were to be.
Limited time for the internship program is one of the challenges as it is only s
cheduled for eight weeks, which makes it not enough to learn experience most of
all the activities undertook in a survey.
Chapter four
4.0 Recommendations and Conclusion
4.1 Recommendations
I recommend that the internship placements be arranged prior to students reporti
ng to the Organizations, that is a division and a supervisor be arranged beforeh
and so that students do not have to wait before beginning with their internship
program. And that the internship period is extended so interns could have enough
time to learn and understand all the activities they are to execute.
4.2 Conclusion
I would like to conclude that this internship programme has been worthwhile for
me and I have benefited in a number of ways including a chance to learn about mo
st of the activities in a survey cycle, and to work and learn from the experts i
n the fields of statistics. I have learned and gain a lot from this programme. A
nd I have also learned that teamwork and commitment are very much important in m
aking surveys possible in all the divisions in the organisation. And I would als
o like to mention that this programme had also given me some new perspectives th
at I did not come across during my studies back the University. All in all it h
as been a great experience working with the organization, and it has given me in
sight on how to shape my career for greater responsibilities in the near future.
Thanks again to STATSSA as an organization, staff and everyone who directly and
indirectly contributed to the success of this programme and the support that th
ey gave me. I would like to thank Human capacity Development (HCD) in arranging
internship placement for me. I would also like to appreciate the support I rece
ived from the Organisation, the divisions I have worked in. And I would like to
emphasize that I’m very much thankful of the supervisors I worked closely with fo
r seeing to it that I finish this programme equipped with more knowledge and ski
lls. It is through their (supervisors) support, commitment, efforts, patience, a
nd interests that I learned and gain experience in most of the activities the di
visions undertake. The programme couldn’t have been easy without everyone’s efforts
to make it a success. Thanks again to every STATS SA’s staff who contributed to t
he internship programme.

REFERENCES
• Generic Operational Manual for Economics Statistics, statssa
• Guide to the QLFS, statssa August 2008
• Intergrated Fieldwork Strategy, draft 3, statssa May 2007
• Outline for internship report, Nuri Ersoy
• Quarterly Employment Statistics, march 2010
• Statistics South Africa work Programme 2010 and 2011, statssa