CHAPTER ONE

• INTRODUCTION

Since the establishment of the Industrial Training Fund by Decree 47 of October 8, 1971
(as presently amended in the 2011 ITF ACT), the body has been responsible for the
Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) through various schools of higher
learning in Nigeria. The body is sponsored by the Federal Government to design this
program for students offering technical and vocational studies in the various higher
institutions of learning in Nigeria.

• Student Industrial Work Experience (SIWES) is a program that was established in 1973
by the Industrial Training Fund to solve the problem of lack of adequate practical skills
preparatory for employment in industries by graduates of Nigerian tertiary institutions.

• The Scheme exposes students to industry-based skills necessary for a smooth transition
from the classroom to the working world after graduation. It affords students of tertiary
institutions across the country the opportunity of being familiarized and exposed to the
needed experience in handling machinery and equipment which are in most cases not
available in the educational institutions.

• The operators of the SIWES program are the Industrial Training Fund, National
University Commission (NUC), NCCE, NBTE, the employers of labor, and the
Institution. It is been funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the beneficiaries
are Undergraduate students of the following discipline: Agriculture, Engineering,
Technology, Environmental, Science, Education, Medical Science and Pure and Applied
Sciences. The duration of the program is usually Four (4) months for Polytechnics and
Colleges of Education, and Six (6) months for the Universities. A total of Fifty-nine (59)
universities, eighty-five (85) polytechnics and Sixty-two (62) colleges of education

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 participate in the SIWES program yearly, however, this statistic has varied over the years
due to the establishment of various institutions of higher learning across the country. The
number of students that participated in SIWES from Universities, Polytechnics and
Colleges of Education at the end of the 2007 fiscal year was 194, 890. Over the years,
pursuant to its statutory responsibility, the ITF has expanded its structures, developed
training program, and reviewed its strategies, operations and services in order to meet the
expanding and changing demands for skilled manpower in the economy.

• AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF SIWES.

1.1.1 AIM

The Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) is aimed at exposing and preparing
students to/for industrial based skills necessary to solve the problem of lack of adequate practical skills,
preparatory for employment in industries and the labor market at large.

1.1.2 OBJECTIVES
The specific objectives of SIWES were summarized by the federal government in its Gazette
of April 1978 as follows:

• Prepare students for the work situation they are likely to meet after graduation.

• Provide an avenue for students in the Nigerian Universities to acquire industrial skills and

experience in their course of study.
• Make the transition from the university to the world of work easier, and thus enhance
student’s contacts for later job placements.
• Enlist and strengthen employers’ involvement in the entire educational process of
preparing university graduates for employment   in industry. 
• Provide students with an opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge in real work
situation, thereby bridging the gap between university work and actual practices.
• Expose students to work methods and techniques in handling equipment and machinery
that may not be available in the universities.

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 CHAPTER TWO

2.1 IHS TOWERS.

IHS Towers is a multinational telecommunication infrastructural provider company

registered in Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote d’ivoire, Rwanda, Zambia, United Kingdom,
Netherlands, Mauritius and Dubai. IHS TOWERS founded in 2001 is the largest mobile
telecommunications infrastructure provider in Africa, Europe and the Middle East by
tower count and the third largest independent multinational tower company globally IHS
operates three business models: building its own tower site and leasing them to operators,
acquiring existing MNO sites and leasing tower space back; taking over the management
of operators networks with an agreement to lease the sites to other operators (Wikipedia).

The company is hinged on:

• Customer focus.

• Innovation.

• Integrity.

• Boldness.

IHS TOWERS is a major contributor to the broadband network of Africa, working together with
Mobile Network Operators and Internet Service Providers to achieve greater standards in
transmission and power supply through proper and effective Network Operating Centers.

2.1.1 MISSION STATEMENT

The mission statement of the company is to be the leading provider of

telecommunications infrastructure to mobile network operators enabling the widest, most
efficient and reliable networks throughout the emerging markets. (www.ihstowers.com)

2.1.2 VISION

To create a connected world where telecommunications promotes continued economic

growth and social development throughout Africa. (www.ihstowers.com)

2.1.3 LOCATION

934 Idejo Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

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 2.1.4 FACILITIES

The company has an array of appropriately equipped departments that have the desired edge in
the safety of client data as it flows through the required channels. The company has high performance
Computers, Scanners, Private firewall, Audit Tool and Power generating set. Spreadsheets are used to
analyze data.

2.1.5 COMPANY PROVIDED SERVICES

IHS TOWERS operates five business models and thus provides services in that regard, the
models are:

1. Colocation and lease Agreement

Colocation is the addition of new customers to an existing tower. These customers could
be mobile network operators, internet service providers, security functions or private
corporations needing point-to-point secure communication and Lease amendments involve
adding additional equipment or providing ancillary services at existing towers for existing
customers for those towers (ihstowers.com/solutions/).

2. New Sites

Colocation has its restrictions ranging from the maximum weight on the tower to
accessibility, The company constructs towers for customers, enabling them to expand their
networks. We handle every step of the project to build a site specific to the customer's
requirements. This includes site analysis (land surveys, environmental site assessment, geo-
technical analysis, zoning and permitting); site acquisition; permitting and legal due diligence;
site development; construction management; and equipment installation
(ihstowers.com/solutions/).

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 3. Buy-Lease-Back

We acquire a mobile network operator’s towers (and related assets) and lease space back
to them. This frees up their capital, allows them to expand their network quickly and for less cost,
and they know they’re getting best-in-class service and up-to-date practice
(ihstowers.com/solutions/).

4. Inbuilding Solutions

We offer connected solutions for large buildings and offices such as hotels, offices or shopping malls,
which require more robust mobile services. This is an efficient and discreet way of creating better
coverage for operators and is also known as a Distributed Antenna System (DAS)
(ihstowers.com/solutions/).

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 5. Fiber to the Tower
We offer dark and lit fiber solutions from our towers to support our customers in their
digital strategies (ihstowers.com/solutions/).
What ever the business model IHS TOWERS is committed to maximum power availability on every site
(over 16 000 sites in Nigeria). IHS TOWERS has been able to defy the challenges of power supply in
Nigeria to achieve over 90% power availability on IHS managed sites.
IHS TOWERS has fleet of vehicles assigned to staff according to company policy with learning platforms
such the T-SAP & I-SAP (Technical skill acquisition program & IHS skill acquisition program) provided
a large network of employment opportunities, employing over 2000 engineers. IHS equips all staffs with
adequate employee wellness programs to ensure a balanced WORK-LIFE ratio.
These models apply to Conventional and Unconventional Sites.

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2.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT

IHS has six strategic objectives that guide its business strategy and our risk management process. 1.

1. Long-term strategic relationships with network operators

Increase co-location ‘lease-up’ rates by developing lasting strategic relationships.

2.Acquisitions to supplement organic growth

Drive leadership in our chosen markets.

3. Innovative solutions

Use technology and working practices to drive innovation.

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 4.Efficiency and effectiveness in our operating model

Streamline our operations and provide scalable solutions.

5. Ethical approach

Develop and implement initiatives to improve the lives of the people living in our chosen markets.

6. Regulatory compliance

Operate in accordance with regulatory standards.

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2.3 COMPANY ORGANOGRAM.(As at 2016)

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Figure 2.1

Figure 2.2 ORGANOGRAM FOR I.T DEPARMENT.

2.4 VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS/SECTIONS IN THE ESTABLISHMENT & THEIR

FUNCTIONS

 HUMAN RESOURCES(HR)-
o Acquiring, developing and retaining a pool of high caliber talent
o Developing and implementing appropriate policies
o Employee engagement: Improving the employee engagement levels
o Creating a Conducive working environment

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 o Enabling and empowering our employees to be creative, innovative and perform at optimum
level.
 OPERATIONS (TECHNOLOGY)-
o Deploy technology that delivers quality network services and continuous customer
satisfaction
o Apply cutting edge knowledge and innovations to improve existing products, processes
and business models
o Deploy environmentally friendly technologies and energy efficiency equipment for long
term sustainability
o Ensure faults and escalations are resolved timely and effectively within contacted service
level agreement.

 DEPLOYMENT-
o Site acquisition (SAQ) – Site Lease and Purchase
o Turnkey Site build - Civil & Electrical (Built To Suit BTS))
o Upgrade existing site for additional tenants
o Warehousing and Logistic
o Project Management

 PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE(PMO)

o Consistent Project management and guidance (methods, systems, tools, metrics…)
o Management and up skilling resource
o Repeatable project delivery process & Less “reinventing the wheel”
o Accurate Resource management across Projects
o Priorities management based on timelines, budgets, resource loads, & what if analysis
approach
o Accurate estimates based on firm’s history & lessons learned
o Continuous Improvement culture, continual progress review towards completion &
enhanced Return On Investments(ROI).

 NETWORK OPERATIONS CENTER(NOC)

Operator, Network Operations Centre (NOC):-
o Carry out network surveillance, detection, troubleshooting, escalation and resolution of all
alarms and outages on sites.
o Ensure proper management and implementation of all network changes according to the
organization process and procedures.
o Ensure all that is necessary for IHS customers (tenants, contractors) enjoy sustained
uninterrupted services and where outage is unavoidable, sites are restored with minimal
mean time to repair (MTTR) etc…

Network Operations Centre----- NOC Service Desk

o Review all service requests for Access, Diesel Supplies or changes to be carried out on IHS sites
and attend in order of priority.

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 o Trigger Incident Management activities with the NOC operator if any network parameters not
considered at the time the request was made (where service request leads to an outage).

o Collaborate with NOC to ensure that changes carried out via access ref meets the desired project
objectives etc…

Performance Monitoring and Reconciliation

o Measures and reports service performance from origination through to delivery to the customer.

o Intelligently reconciles and correlates key performance metrics obtained from multiple data
sources

o Apply appropriate disposition and/or action to resolve discrepancies

o Work collaboratively with team, customers and third parties to resolve exceptions etc…

Team Lead, Service Level Management

o Review the performance of individual team members and complete appraisals in accordance with
the employee performance appraisal procedures and time schedules.

o Collaborate and seek to understand network operations environment’s requirements and

constraints and provide quantitative impact analysis for management actions.

o Taking ownership of reconciliation activities of teams and areas of dispute between IHS network.

o Reviewing network data vis-à-vis SLA to identify breaches and make recommendations
accordingly etc…

Manager, Customer Experience (Network Operating Center)

Owns and maintains the health Service Level Agreements between IHS and assigned customers.

Works in tandem with Performance Sub unit to improve data integrity, reconciliatory processes and
minimize disputes between IHS and assigned customers or third parties.

Own and Manage assigned customer interfaces on behalf of the technology division, collaborating
internally with operations and commercial teams.

Single Point of Management escalation on technical issues on behalf of the technology division.

 FINANCE
o Financial Reporting: Ensure that accurate and timely final accounts are prepared with complete
schedules that meet both internal and relevant external reporting requirements.

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 o Credit control: The Credit Control Unit is responsible for ensuring that IHS has favourable
credit terms with our customers, monitoring customer credit quality, chasing outstanding invoices
to the company. The Unit plays a vital role in the cash flow management of the organization by
ensuring customers pay in line with agreed terms.
o Treasury: To effectively manage working capital as well as ensuring the efficiency of internally
disbursed capital and the advising the business on optimal financing.
o Planning & Performance: To develop and manage the annual operating plan, monitor and
report performance with the overall objective of optimal use of the company’s resources.
o Tax & Benefits: To track and analyze the company’s tax exposure and human capital
expenditure, establish, develop and implement processes and controls to track human capital
spending and also monitor and ensure adherence to internal and relevant external reporting
requirements.

 INTERNAL AUDIT
o Provide reasonable assurance on effectiveness of internal controls towards improving operational
processes;
o Manage and reduce fraud and corruption risks to the barest minimum;
o Assess compliance to operational policies, processes and procedures and proffer improvement
opportunities;
o Ensure proactive risk management system is established and continually monitored.

 LEGAL
The Legal department is one of the key departments in IHS and an important unit in its day to day
operations. It provides support and plays that role to the various departments of the company. It

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 works closely with the company secretariat, CR unit as well as SAQ department as our
duties/tasks tend to overlap.
The department major functions are divided into sub divisions namely:

Figure 2.4.

CHAPTER THREE

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3.1 ACTIVITIES DURING TRAINING PERIOD:- This is my work schedule.

WORK SCHEDULE

Interning at IHS has exposed me to solving real life problems within a schedule that allows for

alertness and mental balance, My functions can be categorized into

1. Office Duties

2. Field Visit.

1. Office Duties: The office duties carried out at IHS Towers are through brainstorming,
Troubleshooting and Writing. The office duties included :

a. Trained on how to be a service desk administrator:-

The Service Desk Administrator’s role is to organize service desk function, which
provides a single point of user contact for all problems and inquiries regarding IT
services, and to ensure that end users are receiving the appropriate assistance with
high levels of customer service. This includes the responsibility of managing all
procedures related to the identification, prioritization, and resolution of all support
requests and the monitoring, tracking, communication and coordination of the service
desk function. (https://www.cifor.org/career/203/it-service-desk-administrator/).

b. Training on the use of the ticketing system, SysAid:-

SysAid is an IT Service Management(ITSM), Service Desk and Help Desk software
solution that integrates all of the essential IT tools into one product. Its rich set of
features include a powerful Help Desk, IT Asset Management, and other easy-to-use
tools for analyzing and optimizing IT performance.
Basically, in IHS every request or incident has to be raised on SysAid in order for
it to me attended to. The service desk admins then assign it to the process managers
in charge of the particular issue. We also track pending tickets that have been
pending for too long, confirm if it has been closed and close the ticket with the proper
solution.

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 Figure 3.1

Figure 3.2

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 Figure 3.3

c. Trained on how to configure laptops for employees.

I was trained to set up laptops, New or the one’s to be reassigned, to company
parameters which includes converting all laptops that come with ubuntu by default to
the company’s customized Windows 10 Enterprise. The customized Windows 10
enterprise comes with all the applications that are used in the company which are
SysAid, Microsoft Office 365, Adobe acrobat, browsers, Sophos firewall etc…
An Administrator password is then setup to control applications that can be
downloaded into the laptop by staffs.

Figure 3.4 Formatting and configuring a new laptop.

d. Installed cisco desk phones for staffs across departments.

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 I installed Cisco despkphone 8851 and 3905 to employees and also connect the
deskphone to their laptops to enable them use the LAN seeing as the phone is using
data port.

Figure 3.5 and 3.6

e. Network troubleshooting to fix issues with deployed desk phones.

After the desk phones were properly installed, some of the desk phones were not
working as it was displaying ethernet disconnected. A senior network admin along
with two interns (me included) went to the server room that has two network racks in
which Fibre patch panel with fibre cords connected, a core switch and a switch that
has ethernet cables connected to it. The ports connected are all labeled with numbers.
It is with this numbers that we were able to track the cable and reconnect it to another
port to enable it. Below is the network rack…

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 Figure 3.7 Picture of a
Network rack

f. Taught how to spool

printer report from each
printers location on the
network to create a
report on ink level per
printer.
Every shared printer has
an IP address assigned
to it. The IP address is
then put in the browser
which then prompts a
login page. I login with
my printer pin(every
employee has a unique
pin) and a page opens
which contains every
information about the
printer such as ink level,
paper amount and size
etc…

g. Installed printer plug-ins

to laptop and setting up
for wireless printing
over the company local
network.
This is just inputting the
printer server address
that connects the printers together into the run app. A page pops up, we install the
printer and then set it to the default printer on the user’s system.

h. Engaged in network activities:-

Basically, for the last three weeks I was allowed to move to the network team
although I was only able to assist in some activities seeing as I’m an intern. I assisted
in the change from Cyberoam firewall to Sophos Firewall. This change was because
Sophos bought over Cyberoam. Cyberoam Firewall is available as a Next-Generation
Firewall and UTM firewall. It offers stateful and deep packet inspection for network,
application and user identity-based security. Cyberoam Firewall thus protects
organizations from Denial-of-Service attack(DoS), Distributed Denial-of-Service

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 attack DDoS and IP Spoofing attacks(www.cyberoam.com>firewall) while A Sophos
firewall is your first line of defense against Internet security threats and controlling
data to the Internet. Sophos XG Firewalls provide unprecedented visibility into your
network, users, and applications directly from the control center.

Figure 3.8 Picture of the Cyberoam firewall hardware when it was still connected

Figure 3.9 Picture of the Sophos hardware firewall hardware not connected yet.

i. Participated in preventive maintenance activity going on in the IHS IT department

which includes correction of wrong naming convention, windows update to the latest
version available, enabling bitlocker, removing shadow application(applications that
are not allowed to be on the work laptop e.g VLC, games) etc…

j. Trained in Asset Management.

IT department tracks laptops, CUG lines, Monitors, other hardware devices etc. This
is tracked with SysAid, then it is added to company records. Laptops, keyboards,
monitors, printers and other hardware devices assigned all have an IHS asset tag
sticker with a unique number and barcode for easy tracking.

k. One of the team members for cloud computing security upgrade using Rapid 7
insight.
The Rapid7 Insight cloud equips you with the visibility, analytics, and automation
you need to unite your teams and work faster (and smarter). Security, IT, and
Development now have one-click access to vulnerability management, cloud
application security, incident detection and response, automation, and more.

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 So basically we installed the Rapid 7 Insight for employees that didn’t already have it
remotely installed for one reason or the other.

l. Repaired Laptops.
I changed laptop screens, repaired laptops which water was spilled into, and changed
keyboards.

m. Learnt about the vulnerabilities to be conscious of and the importance of cyber

security.
A program was held at IHS by the IT security team and we were informed about the
vulnerabilities to be conscious of and the importance of cyber security. This was
explained with the OWASP top 10 which are Injection, Broken Authentication,
Sensitive data exposure, XML External Entities (XXE), Broken Access control,
Security misconfigurations, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), Insecure Deserialization,
Using Components with known vulnerabilities, and Insufficient logging and
monitoring.

n. User laptop troubleshooting to determine the cause of low speed(operating speed), to

find hidden malware causing file replication using licensed Sophos software.
Basically, Close system tray programs, Stop programs running on startup, Update
your OS, drivers and apps, Delete unnecessary files, and Find programs that eat up
resources. Once all this is done and the system is still slow then allow the user get a
better/new laptop with approval to ensure efficiency of work.

2. Field Visit

Figure 3.10
Figure 3.8 above is a representation of a site(www.ihstowers.csod.com). A typical site has a
tower, generator, batteries, customer equipment, and rectifier cabinet. Figure 3.9 below is a real-
life Site.

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 Figure 3.11

3.2 Experience
Acquired

This internship gave

me the opportunity to
test drive a career
without making any
serious commitments. It provided me with experiences, lessons, and tools that may be useful in getting a
job or working in future. Here are the what I gained from the internship:

 New and Improved skills and how to apply them

I gained new found knowledge which includes knowing how to fulfil some task relevant to my
career path.

 Professional communications
Working in a professional setting for the first time was a bit difficult to adjust to but it is the best
way to learn how to navigate the working world through real-life, hands-on experience. One of
the most important skills I gained is the ability to speak with people in a professional setting.

 Taking constructive criticism well

Naturally, no one likes to be criticized and performance evaluations are quite scary. I made a few
mistakes and received constructive criticism about my work both from my colleagues and my line
manager. I always had to remind myself that its not personal seeing as it is for my own good and
growth and it will improve the quality of my work.

 Build a good work ethic

I learned to work hard even if my task is small and seems unimportant. It helped me build a good
work ethic and it did not go unnoticed by my colleagues.

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  Independence
My internship taught me how to make my own decisions and do things on my own. I understood
that being able to work independently with little guidance is very important in the working world.

 Making connections
In addition to people who will be my references in future, I left my internship with new
connections: senior managers, managers, clients, fellow interns etc. These people can provide
guidance, advice and help in future job searches.

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED DURING TRAINING

 Allotment of trivial work:

I honestly thought I might be able to learn a lot of things within a short period of time but I was
only offered just assisting jobs to my seniors and mentors. I found my work unimportant at first
but I understood later that nothing is inconsequential if it matters somewhere in the work cycle of
the company.
 Issues with Time Management/Self-Management
It is my first job kind of experience so I made some mistakes one of which is time management. A
balance between work and my personal life seemed to be a challenge. Waking up very early and
getting home was another challenge for me as i hardly had time for anything except work. I hardly had
time for myself.
 Understanding teamwork
This was another challenge because teamwork in the professional sector is different from class
project teamwork.
 Different personalities and Attitudes
Another problem I encountered during the training is attending to different people with different
attitudes at work. Some people, usually those in high positions have the tendencies to be irritated
by any misbehavior. They are usually very impatient when in need of anything. I have been put
off a coupe of times on such occasions of demand. With time, I have gotten used to it as I know
treat their issues urgently.

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 CHAPTER 5

5.1 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION.

The Industrial Training experience has exposed me to practical real time problems with respect to
deadlines on completion of tasks and increased the capacity for problem solving. This experience has me
better equipped to join the work force in the Information Technology sector. It has been one of the
interesting, productive, and educative experiences in my life.

I have gained new insight and more comprehensive understanding about the real industrial
working conditions and practice, and also improved my functional skills. As a result of the programme, I
am now more confident to build my future career which I have already started with HIS Towers Ltd.

I therefore recommend that the Institution allows students apply for Intern positions earlier to
facilitate the job search process and guarantee the full period intended for SIWES is maximized with
Intending organizations. Also, the institution should try to make alliances with companies across the
country to ensure ease of placements for students.

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 5.2 REFERENCES.

 www.ihstowers.com
 www.ihstowers.com/solutions/
 www.ihstowers.csod.com (IHS academy)
 www.wikipedia.com
 IHS induction manual

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5.3 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: Company Organogram(as at 2016)

Figure 2.2: IHS IT department Organogram
Figure 2.4: Functions of the Legal Department at HIS
Figure 3.1: Overview of SysAid ticket listing page
Figure 3.2: SysAid Dashboard page
Figure 3.3: SysAid Ticket Overview
Figure 3.4: Picture of me configuring a new Laptop
Figure 3.5: Cisco desphone model 8851
Figure 3.6: Cisco desphone model 3905
Figure 3.7: Network Rack
Figure 3.8: Cyberoam Firewall Hardware
Figure 3.9: Sophos Firewall Hardware
Figure 3.10 Representation of a site
Figure 3.11 Picture of an IHS site abroad

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5.4 APPENDICES

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5.5 NOTATION AND SYMBOLS

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