SECTION ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 STUDENTS’ INDUSTRIAL WORK EXPERIENCE SCHEME

(S.I.W.E.S): THE CONCEPT AND ITS MEANING

The Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (S.I.W.E.S) is a

system imbued with the ability to provide tertiary-level students with the
opportunity of gaining practical-based work experience in relation and
addition to what they have learnt in school within the time framework of
their undergraduate academic tutelage. It is designed to prepare students
for the industrial working situation they will likely face after graduation by
bridging the gap between theory and practice.

The Federal University of Technology, Akure (F.U.T.A.) being a

tertiary institution with the vision of producing technologically sound and
self-reliant graduates has made the SIWES programme an integral part of
the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Technology graduate
degree for her students.

The Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (S.I.W.E.S), a

programme initiated by the Federal Government is organized and
managed by the Industrial Training Fund (I.T.F.) for a period of 3 months
to 1 year depending on the institution involved. The SIWES programme
was initiated by the Federal Government in 1971 during the second
national development plan under decree number 47 of 1971. It was
saddled with the responsibility of promoting and encouraging the
acquisition of skills in commerce and industry with a view to generating
numerous locally trained manpower, sufficient to meet the needs of the
country.

The duration of the programme in FUTA is six months for fourth year
(400 Level) students commencing from the end of the first semester of
their academic session.

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1.2 OBJECTIVES OF SIWES

The Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) aims at:

1. Enhancing the industrial skill acquisition and work experience of

students thus augmenting their theoretical knowledge to make
them efficient at solving the practical problems of the work
environment.

2. Ensuring the involvement of the related industries and organizations

in the training, education, exposure and development process of the
students which they will in turn recruit as their staffers after their
academic experience.

3. Exposing students to different categories and classes of people to

improve their people skills, interactional abilities and team spirit and
enhance their abilities to build positive working relationships with a
wide range of individuals and organizations.

4. Increasing the marketability and entrepreneurial skills of students

by exposing them to the odds of fieldwork and the challenges of
meeting personal and organizational expectations by preparing
students for the industrial situation they will likely meet after
graduation.

6. Affording students the additional opportunity of learning how to

write field reports.

7. Contributing to the quality and size of the nation’s manpower,

technological development and overall skill levels.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THIS REPORT

The objectives of this report include the under-listed:

1. To put into writing the practical experience gained and industrial

knowledge acquired during the SIWES programme at Resort
Securities &Trust Limited Head Office.

2. To offer useful suggestions and proffer recommendations as the

case may be.

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 SECTION TWO

2.0 THE S.I.W.E.S SITE: RESORT SECURITIES & TRUST LIMITED

2.1 THE ORGANIZATION AND HER HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Located on the 10th floor, NECOM House, 15 Marina, Lagos, Resort

Securities & Trust Limited, a private company limited by shares was
incorporated in Nigeria on 18 May, 1990 as a non-banking financial
institution to “carry out inter-alia, capital market operations, corporate
finance series and investment advisory functions.”

Providing capital market services vis-a-vis stock-broking, issuing

house functions, bonds/debentures and equities trading, sourcing of loan
stocks, capital sourcing and trading of annuities, mutual funds and unit
trust holdings, Resort Securities & Trust Limited also offers corporate
finance packaging services vis-a-vis investment advisory functions and
consultancy, hybrid of equity projects, fund/portfolio management,
feasibility studies, management services and many more within the scope
of her operational capabilities.

With an eleven-member board chaired by Femi Ekundayo (Esq.), an

accomplished management executive and entrepreneur, also a fellow of
both the Institute of Directors (IoD) and the Chartered Institute of Bankers
of Nigeria (CIBN), the company’s assets are currently in excess of N2
billion with 15 shareholder funds in excess of N1 billion. Led by Mr.
Nyemike Ogbechie, a seasoned stockbroker who is the Managing Director,
the top management team comprising of Alhaji Jibril Ibrahim, the
Executive Director and Mr. David Olusegun Adefolaju, a fellow of the
Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) who is the Assistant General
Manager has a combined brokerage/financial experience in excess of 50
years.

The Head Office oversees the operations of branches in Abeokuta,

Abuja, Ado-Ekiti, Port-Harcourt, Warri, Kano, Ikeja, Lekki, Onitsha and
Owerri all of which are established in tandem with the requirements of the
Nigerian Stock Exchange (N.S.E).

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 Currently among the top 10 players in the business of stock-broking
in the Nigerian Capital market, Resort Securities & Trust Limited aims to
expand its tentacles to other African countries at the conclusion of the on-
going process to integrate and merge all African capital markets.

2.2 VISION, MISSION AND CORE VALUES OF RESORT SECURITIES

& TRUST LIMITED;

Just like every corporate entity that aims at making giant strides in
its operating sector of the economy, Resort Securities & Trust Limited has
a well defined three-pronged vision that propels it to action. Its vision
includes:

1. Becoming a leading financial service organization with great

reputation for efficiency

2. Rising to the pinnacle of brokerage business and becoming one

among best three brokerage firms in Nigeria and best ten in Africa.

3. Ensuring customer satisfaction to the highest level possible.

The company’s mission statement which defines in precise and

unambiguous terms the type and quality of service it will strive to provide
entails “being committed to excellence using well-equipped and a highly
motivated workforce for customer delight and enhanced stakeholder
values.” This mission statement is hinged on the belief that a company’s
mission determines the quality of service it will render, while the service
rendered produces a public image or client perception which in turn
culminates into financial profitability/reward.

Her core values which serve as the bedrock upon which the mode
and quality of her relations and interactions with both corporate and
individual clients are built are contained in the acronym ‘FITED’ meaning:

F- Friendliness

I- Integrity

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 T- Team Spirit

E- Excellence

D- Dedication

2.3 ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF RESORT SECURITIES &

TRUST LIMITED

Resort Securities & Trust Limited has a typical modern-day

organizational structure. A board consisting of 11 directors headed by the
board chairman sits atop the hierarchical chain of organization. This board
meets at an agreed periodic interval to deliberate on decisions relating to
the direction, financial state and overall business of the company. The
board directors along with other executive shareholders also meet with
the management team at least twice each financial year to evaluate the
company’s profitability and vote on decisions bordering on dividend pay
out and other important financial issues.

The everyday activities of the company are manned and overseen

by the management team. Though led by the Managing Director, the
team which includes the Executive Director and the Assistant General
Manager who also doubles as the Head of Business Development
Department collaborates with the various heads of departments who are
next to them in the leadership chain. Staffers of the seven departments
form the workforce that carry out the daily business of the company. The
professional staff members some of whom are chartered stockbrokers are
placed higher ahead in the organizational structure ahead of the non-
professional staff members (drivers, cleaners, security guards, office
assistants).

2.4 OPERATIONAL DIVISIONS OF RESORT SECURITIES & TRUST

LIMITED

Providing an array of brokerage and corporate client functions, the

seven departments that make up Resort Securities & Trust Limited work

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closely together to ensure maximum customer satisfaction, optimum
efficiency and smooth running of all her business operations.

The departments are as follows:

1. CUSTOMER SERVICE/FRONT DESK DEPARTMENT

2. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

3. OPERATIONS/STRATEGY AND CONTROL DEPARTMENT

4. FINANCE AND ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT

5. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

6. HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

7. FACILITATIONS DEPARTMENT

SECTION THREE

3.0 BUSINESS SERVICES AND DIVISIONAL FUNCTIONS OF

RESORT SECURITIES & TRUST LIMITED

3.1 SERVICES PROVIDED BY RESORT SECURITIES & TRUST

LIMITED

With the scope of her initiating Memorandum of Understanding

(MOU) broadly embracing the business of corporate finance packaging

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and capital market services, Resort Securities & Trust Limited is involved
in a wide range of non-banking financial functions. The services offered by
the company can be discussed under the following two headings:

3.1.1 CAPITAL MARKET SERVICES

The capital market serves as a medium of exchange of equities and

shareholdings, a source of financial gearing and leverage for businesses
and above all, an institutionalized platform for investment and profit
making.

In her capacity as a major player in the Nigerian capital market,

Resort Securities & Trust Limited provides client stock-broking services
which include execution of individual and corporate share purchase and
sales mandates, cross-dealings, processing of physical share certificates
to the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) online depository
amongst a myriad of stock-broking functions. Also registered as an issuing
house, the company is involved in issuing house functions for public
offers, private placements, convertible redeemable bonds, debentures,
treasury bills, unit trust holdings, mutual funds, annuities, loan stocks and
much more.

The company as well facilitates the ‘listing by way of introduction’ of

companies wishing to go public (i.e. becoming listed on the Nigerian Stock
Exchange) and helps already listed companies to ensure that their
business are carried out in line with the dictates of the Nigerian Stock
Exchange (N.S.E) and Securities and Exchange Commission (S.E.C).
Providing capital market investment services, Resort Securities & Trust
caters for the needs of high net worth individual and organizations such as
asset management companies, pension fund managers/administrators,
pension fund custodians, insurance companies, discount houses, state
governments, ministries, mutual benefit organizations etc.

3.1.2 CORPORATE FINANCE PACKAGING

Covering a wide range of services from fund/portfolio management,

investment advisory functions to amalgamations, liquidations, mergers,
management services, feasibility studies and consultancy, corporate

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finance packaging covers numerous issues bordering on funds and its
management.

Making investment advisory decisions and financial projections

based on feasibility studies from a standpoint of profit, Resort Securities &
Trust Limited offers consultancy services on existing product
line/packages and expanding businesses. Facilitation of business mergers,
absorptions and amalgamations as well as liquidations are all part of her
professional capabilities and functions.

Management of client portfolios and their investment packages at

various discretionary levels and maturity tenors as well as fund
management based on negotiated terms form the core of the company’s
Asset/Portfolio/Funds Management Service package.

3.2 OPERATIONAL DIVISIONS OF RESORT SECURITIES & TRUST

LIMITED AND THEIR SERVICE LEVEL MANDATES

Every operational division/department of the Resort Securities &

Trust Limited is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that all her
service level mandates (i.e. designated duties) are taken to with all sense
of dedication and commitment. The operational divisions and their
responsibilities are as follows

3.2.1 CUSTOMER SERVICE/FRONT DESK DEPARTMENT

The department as the name implies caters for all customer

enquiries, client complaints and official correspondences. Providing
answers to questions bordering on client account details and cash
balance, stock-holding positions, transfer certificates processing state,
certificate lodgement details, transaction alerts etc, the customer service
department ensures that all clients are satisfied to the maximum level
possible.

Staffers of this department make all efforts to respond satisfactorily

to all enquiries presented either physically or electronically via phone
calls, faxes or e-mails. They also refer clients to the relevant departments
on matters requiring further clarification and ensure that all official

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correspondences are followed up. The staffers of this department are
responsible to the Head, Department of Strategy and Control.

3.2.2 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

With a service level mandate accommodating a wide range of key

responsibilities, this department can be said to be the power centre of the
company. The department covers responsibilities bordering majorly on
revenue mobilization and client base expansion as well as budgeting,
branch co-ordination and funds allocation, corporate liaison roles,
fund/portfolio management and corporate conflict resolution. Her
functions also include the processing of indemnity documents, ‘no-
objection’ documents for credit facilities, service level agreement (SLA)
negotiations, client business briefings, agency commissioning, marketing
activities etc.

Staffers of this department secure clients –corporate and individual–

seeking to transact business in the capital market, and make efforts to
route such dealings through the company to secure a brokerage
commission and ensure profitability. They also serve in advisory and
decision-making capacities as portfolio/fund managers providing
qualitative overall market analyses, professional portfolio evaluation, price
projections, market indices analyses, portfolio briefings and as many
conditions negotiated with the clients whose portfolio(s) are in focus.

Their responsibilities entail “all activities officially pronounced or

otherwise with inherent opportunities of expanding the marketing
frontiers and client base of the Resort Securities & Trust Limited.” Their
service level mandate is to “bring business to Resort Securities & Trust
Limited and ensure that the business is done.”

3.2.3 OPERATIONS/STRATEGY AND CONTROL DEPARTMENT

The activities of this department can be explained under these

under-listed headings:

(a) Transaction jobbing and Trade-running: Before the close of

work each day, this department collates all duly authorised

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 transaction mandates (purchase, sales and cross-deals) and key
them into the jobbing book for the next day’s trading at the
company’s trading booth on the Stock Exchange floor and the online
trading terminal at the office. This involves making calculations on
purchase prices, price limits and quantity to be purchased or sold
within the range of such a client’s available account balance (for
purchase mandates) and stock-holding position (for sale mandates).
At the end of each day’s trading, they run the day’s trade, ensure
that all trade details are updated and check for deviations from the
duly authorised transaction mandates for rectification.

(b) Share transfer processing and Registrar functions: Also

involved in the process of transferring physical share certificates of
companies issued to owners of such share securities purchased on
the primary market through public offers, private placements,
reconstructions etc., to the online depository on the Central
Securities Clearing System (C.S.C.S), this department ensures the
smooth sailing of share transfers and transmissions. They ensure
that documents such as banker’s confirmation, indemnity
documents, sworn affidavits, court injunctions, newspaper
publications of death, death certificates (for estate accounts)
required by the various registrars of such companies for this process
are made available by the clients to ensure a speedy and hitch-free
share transfer process.

Representations are also made by this department on behalf

of the company at various Registrar offices as at when required,
clarifying knotty issues, ensuring speedy processing and following
up on all official correspondences with registrar companies.

(c) Client account registration and Stock Exchange relations:

When new client accounts are opened, they have to be registered
with the Stock Exchange and put on the Central Securities Clearing
System (CSCS). This department ensures that this is perfected
within the shortest time possible for such clients to commence
transactions and dealings. The department also caters for matters

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 such as transaction alert registration, change of name, change of
address, client account viewing clearance etc., and other documents
required to be submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange office for
processing.

(d) Internal Control and Standards Compliance: This involves

ensuring that the financial activities of the company are carried out
in compliance with industrial standards, internal code of conduct
and acceptable ethical boundaries.

3.2.4 FINANCE AND ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT

Commissioned to ensure a healthy financial state of the company,

this department carries out various functions.

Being a non-banking financial service organization, Resort Securities

& Trust Limited does not accept cash thus making commercial banking
and its attendant responsibilities inevitable. Acceptance and clearance of
cheque deposits, bank overdrafts, bank transfers, international money
wires, bank cash lodgements etc., are done by this department. They
receive updated account statements of the company from all banks
commissioned to carry out business on her behalf on a daily basis so as to
ensure that the internal books of the updated in line with all customer
deposits and withdrawals.

Issuance of cheques, internal auditing, provision of profitability

indices and financial internal control documents are all done by this
department. They also make representations on behalf of the company
when occasions for financial expertise arise at banking houses, corporate
financial departments, negotiation tables and industrial standard control
organizations.

3.2.5. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT

Overseeing all matters relating to information and communication

technology, this department is in charge of providing the most reliable
and advanced technology within reasonable and acceptable budgetary
limits required for the daily business of the company.

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 Networking and maintenance of the company’s computer systems
and communication lines at various clearance levels, provision of
adequate security to the company’s website and online office are all part
of the department’s functions. They are also saddled with the
responsibility of selecting from the plenteous midst of available financial
programming packages those most suitable for the daily business of the
company.

The department is also involved in the production of the company’s

official newsletter, official brochures as well as the updating of the
company’s website, programming packages and daily trading and
transaction details.

3.1.6 HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

Involved in a group relationship with companies such as DVCF Oil &

Gas Limited, Resort Savings & Loans Plc., Resort Consult Limited, and
Resort Developers Limited under the central headship of DEAP Capital
Management & Trust Plc, Resort Securities & Trust operates a group
Human Resources Department

Though having the home office is situated at the group

headquarters with DEAP Capital Management & Trust, the department
makes concerted efforts to ensure that its presence and reach is visibly
felt in all the companies involved in the group relationship, Resort
Securities & Trust Limited inclusive.

The department’s responsibility entails ensuring a satisfied and

highly motivated workforce to ensure in turn, maximum client satisfaction.
The department oversees matters such as staff promotions and
appointments, allocation of leave periods, recruitment and redeployment
of staff members as well as maintenance of discipline, control and
compliance with company rules, job ethics and code of conduct among
staff members. This department also metes out punishments when
required to erring staff members and rewards to staff members who have
proven worthy of such.

3.1.7 FACILITATIONS DEPARTMENT

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 The functions of this department involve ensuring the facilitation of
all official matters and the smooth running of the details concerning the
daily operational activities of Resort Securities & Trust Limited. All non
professional staff members of the company such as drivers, cleaners,
office assistants and security guards work under this department.

The activities of this department are overseen by the departmental

head who also doubles as the Secretary to the Managing Director.
Designation of drivers and office assistants for official assignments within
and outside Lagos are all responsibilities within the operational ambit of
this department.

SECTION FOUR

4.0 THE S.I.W.E.S EXPERIENCE

Though primarily attached to the Business Development

Department of Resort Securities & Trust Limited during my SIWES
programme, I had the opportunity of carrying out assignments, job
descriptions, responsibilities, and learning processes that cut across all
departments of the company.

The activities I was involved include the following:

4.1 E-JOBBING AND EXECUTION OF TRANSACTION MANDATES

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 Responsibility for all the branches of Resort Securities & Trust
Limited lies with the Business Development Department –the department I
was primarily assigned to. Since all share transactions are executed from
the Head Office, all branches are required to send copies of duly
authorised share purchase or sale mandates to the Head Office through
online means. I was responsible for certifying the validity of documents
required to execute these mandates as well as jobbing (i.e. authorisation
and preparation for trade executions by the broker) all mandates that
satisfy these conditions of validity. This involves doing this in consonance
with client conditional preferences such as price limits, sectoral
preferences etc.

4.2 FUND/PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

High net-worth clients and corporate organizations seek

opportunities for investment in the capital market. Such clients
commission brokerage agencies with the expertise to provide Portfolio
Management services with a view to increasing the initial capital base and
ensuring profitability. I had the opportunity of managing a few client
portfolios.

4.2.1 SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT (S.L.A.) NEGOTIATIONS

Negotiations involving the terms and conditions of work and service

as well as decisions on discretionary allowances and possible provisional
amendments are all deliberated upon at this stage by representatives
from the companies involved. A document agreeing to service level
conditions is signed by the duly authorised representative of the
companies involved at the conclusion of all negotiations.

4.2.2 MARKET ANALYSIS, PRICE PROJECTION AND INVESTMENT

ADIVSORY SERVICES

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 Analysis of investment options and opportunities are provided to the
investing client and joint decisions are made as to what and how to invest
the funds made available. The Portfolio Management team makes stock
recommendations based on price projections and market analyses.
However, since the discretionary levels of portfolios differ, the account
officer can make investment decisions totally based on his personal
interpretation, judgment and expectations of market conditions subject to
the agreement reached with the investing client at the service level
agreement (S.L.A) negotiation stage.

Stock recommendations are however made available to all clients

(having portfolio management agreements or otherwise) via the
company’s weekly newsletter.

4.2.3 CORPORATE LIAISON/BUSINESS BRIEFING FUNCTIONS

At an agreed periodic interval, clients are briefed as to

developments in the capital market as well as their investment portfolios.
Clients without a specified portfolio arrangement also have unhindered
access to their account statement, stock holding position, contract notes,
certificate lodgement details and all such documents regarding their
accounts they may request for.

4.3 REGISTRAR FUNCTIONS

Registrars act as custodians and regulatory organizations

concerning information regarding share securities of various companies
listed on the stock exchange. Listed companies have the liberty of setting
up their own registrar arms, so long as they meet up with the
requirements of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (N.S.E) and Securities
Exchange Commission (S.E.C) or appointing already existing registrars to
act on their behalf in an official capacity.

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 I had the opportunity of transacting various businesses with
different registrar companies on behalf of Resort Securities & Trust
Limited. These activities include:

4.3.1 BATCHING, PROCESSING AND TRANSFER OF PHYSICAL

SHARE CERTIFICATES

For transactions to be possible on them all share certificates issued

to the owners during public offers, bonus declarations, private placements
etc., they have to be converted to the online depository format on Central
Securities Clearing System (CSCS), and these can only be done through
stock-broking houses. The process involves batching of these certificates
with transfer forms and presenting them with all required documents to
the registrars on behalf of the client. Besides being involved in the
batching and processing of these certificates, I had the opportunity of
catering for special cases such as estate accounts (for the deceased),
share transmission (in cases of name changes) etc.

4.3.2 REVALIDATION OF STALE DIVIDEND WARRANTS/RETURN

MONEY

When companies declare their profit at the end of their financial

year at their Annual General Meeting (A.G.M), decisions are made as to
the issuance or otherwise of dividend warrants. However since these
warrants operate like cheques, though still legally tenable, they expire
after six months thus requiring revalidation. I had the opportunity of
providing revalidation services for clients by presenting the required
documents to various registrars on behalf of such clients so as to gain
unhindered access to their money. This involves provision of a covering
letter, a letter of authority, a valid means of identification and stock
holding positions as the case may be.

4.4 PREPARATION OF FINANCIAL BOOKS

Saddled with the responsibility of catering for the branches, the

Business Development Department where I was attached to prepares
certain financial documents for management decisions to be made. These
include:

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4.4.1 BUDGETING, COST ALLOCATION AND REVENUE PROJECTION

At the commencement of the new financial year, I was

commissioned alongside other staff members of the department to
provide documents as regards budgeting, cost allocation and revenue
projection.

The process involved making recommendations based on the overall

financial situation of the operating area and incorporating them into a pre-
designed budget format in line with revenue expectations from the Head
Office and all the branches.

4.4.2 WEEKLY/QUARTERLY/END-OF-THE-YEAR FINANCIAL REPORTS

At the end of each financial week, I was specifically commissioned

to produce the weekly report for the weekly management meeting
alongside a senior colleague of the Business Development Department.
Preparation of this weekly financial report entails calculations of
brokerage commission due to share purchase and sales transactions as
well as calculations on revenue generated due to processing of
certificates, indemnity documents, ‘letter of no objection’ documents,
embassy reference documents and other miscellaneous sources of
income.

I was also opportuned to participate in the preparation of two

quarterly reports and one end-of-the-year financial report. Cumulative
figures derived from weekly financial reports within the time span of the
period being worked upon alongside other important parameters are used
in the preparation of quarterly and end-of-the-year financial reports. The
reports are then prepared in spreadsheet and graphical formats with
revenue generation levels broken down for all branches as well as the
Head Office serving as a tool for measuring effectiveness by the
management and governing board.

4.5 REVENUE MOBILIZATION

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 Since the conditions of my industrial attachment were not as broad
and stringent as those of full time regular staff members, no revenue
mobilization target was set for me.

I was however involved in helping secure a number of individual and

corporate new client accounts. Persuasiveness, tenacity, consistency,
integrity, dedication and transparency were key factors in winning the
trust of these clients and securing their financial commitment in opening
and maintaining brokerage accounts and management portfolios.

4.6 BRANCH MATTERS CO-ORDINATION

Certain information as regards client accounts and other related

matters are accessible only from the Head Office thus making it necessary
for all branch offices to maintain regular correspondence with the Head
Office.

While all staff members of the Business Development Department

attend to branch matters, I was however designated to attend to certain
specific issues ranging from e-jobbing of branch transaction mandates,
processing of branch indemnity documents to processing of transfer
certificates, client account details, stock holding positions and all such
requests as may be made by Branch Offices

SECTION FIVE

5.0 RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

5.1 RELEVANCE OF TRAINING PROVIDED

The relevance of the training afforded me during my SIWES period

at Resort Securities & Trust Limited cannot be over flogged. While certain
aspects of the training provided can be spoken of in quantifiable terms,

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the psychological benefits, confidence gained, team-playing abilities
acquired and human relations lessons learnt are difficult to calibrate in
quantifiable terms. I was afforded the opportunity of learning first hand
important lessons of life with inherent abilities of making patient and
willing individuals great successes in their chosen fields of endeavour.

It is however important for evaluation purposes to state clearly the

relevance of training provided during my period of internship at Resort
Securities & Trust Limited. They include but are unlimited to the following:

1. I was able to observe first-hand the drivers of the capital market as

well as factors influencing transaction volumes and price volatility
while understudying market movements during a financial
recession- a phenomenon that occurs only once in a while.

2. I also learnt the basics of corporate finance packaging and the

internal workings of an archetypal corporate environment.

3. Adequately trained in the fundamentals and processes involved in

funds/portfolio management, I was commissioned to act in that
capacity for certain client accounts –a relevant experience in my
training as a Manager.

4. I learnt a great deal about financing, capital sourcing and credit

facility processing for different types of businesses, agriculture
inclusive.

5. Also, important lessons on human relations, team skills as well as

initiating and maintaining business relationships were learnt during
my SIWES period.

5.1 RECOMMENDATIONS

Having undergone the statutory period for the SIWES programme, it

is difficult to feign ignorance of the reality of what obtains during scheme.
While the concept and philosophy behind the scheme deserves applauses,
like every other major programme in Nigeria, execution and maintenance
are issues that need to be addressed.

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 In line with what has been said above, my recommendations as
regards the Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (S.I.W.E.S)
include the following:

1. When requested, efforts should be made by the concerned

departments to provide internship opportunities for their students in
line with individual preferences, academic strengths and future
focus. This will help in reducing the difficulty many students face in
securing SIWES placements.

2. To encourage participating students and lend them credence at

their place of work, the University should make efforts to carry out
industrial visitations to these students. It was observed across board
that no student was afforded the seeming luxury of industrial
visitations by University representatives.

3. Also, to cushion the effects of transportation, feeding and

accommodation costs, stipends and allowances should be provided
by the Industrial Training Fund (I.T.F.) and/or relevant agencies and
parastatals for students on SIWES to reduce the financial burden
thrusted on them during their SIWES period.

5.2 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, it is highly important to recognize that the Students

Industrial Work Experience Scheme (S.I.W.E.S) provides an ample
opportunity for students to acquire relevant training and industrial
experiential knowledge as regards their field of study.

The thrust of my quest to gain comprehensive insider knowledge of

the capital market is borne out of the fact that agriculture has failed to
maximally utilize the opportunities inherent in the capital market in
Nigeria unlike what obtains in other developed nations.

Providing an all important platform for capital sourcing as well as

leveraging and gearing opportunities, the capital market has the potential
of providing for what proves to be the major problem agriculture faces in
Nigeria -adequate capital. It is important to observe that the banking

20
industry maximally utilized these same opportunities which are
abundantly available in the Nigerian capital market by attracting local and
foreign investors during their capital sourcing for the N25billion capital
base benchmark for banking institutions.

Noteworthy is the fact that the Nigerian capital market is the second
most prolific in the world in terms of dividend payout history and bonus
declaration and as such investors are willing to make financial
commitments to business schemes with the potential of generating profit.
Therefore, farms, agro-allied and agro-related industries and organizations
all stand the chance of sourcing sufficient capital for their businesses
-both existing ones and yet to be initiated ones- from willing Nigerian and
foreign investors who have learnt from experience the high rate of
investment returns in the Nigerian capital market.

Therefore, the challenge is to ensure that new and upcoming agri-

business schemes prove to these willing investors that they contain the
potentials for growth, expansion and profit-making thus standing them a
chance of securing a huge capital base for their operations.

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