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2011/03/10

Private & Confidential

PROPOSAL FOR

Education, Training and Development Practices (ETDP)

Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA)

PROJECT FUNDA

10 March 2011

Prepared by:

__________________________
Mncedisi Sibanyoni
Project Manager
E-mail: mncedisi@ulwaziresearch.co.za

1 | P a g e Proposals provided by Ulwazi remain the property of Ulwazi, and their contents may not be revealed
COPYRIGHT:
to third parties, without Ulwazi’s permission. In particular, clients and agencies are not permitted to use Ulwazi’s
proposals as the basis for quotations from other Research Practitioners.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE No.
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................1
2. BACKGROUND....................................................................................2
3. ULWAZI RESEARCH’S EXPERTISE AND CAPACITY...............................3
4. WHY USE ULWAZI?.............................................................................5
4.1. Ulwazi’s experience......................................................................5
4.2. Strategic partnership....................................................................5
5. FIELDWORK CAPACITY AND QUALITY.................................................6
5.1. Field capacity................................................................................6
5.2. Quality of interviewers..................................................................6
5.3. Data verification...........................................................................7
6. WHO IS ETDP SETA?...........................................................................8
7. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES......................................................................9
8. RESEARCH CONSIDERATIONS...........................................................10
9. APPROACH: Qualitative in-depth.....................................................11
9.1. Why in-depth interviews?...........................................................11
9.2. Methodology...............................................................................12
9.3. Sample frame.............................................................................13
9.3.1. Suggested Sample for Qualitative In-depth..........................13
9.4. Discussion guide.........................................................................14
9.5. Recap of things...........................................................................15
10. APPROACH II: Ad-Hoc Quantitative Survey....................................16
10.1. Universe and sample size.........................................................16
10.2. Sample size...............................................................................16
10.3. Sampling method......................................................................16
10.4. Interviewing method:................................................................17
10.5. Data processing and output:....................................................17
11. OVERVIEW OF TIMING....................................................................18
12. COSTS.............................................................................................19
12.1. QUALITATIVE IN DEPTHS:..........................................................19
12.2. AD-HOC QUANTITATIVE SURVEY:..............................................20
13. THE RESEARCH TEAM....................................................................21

2|Page
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

To ensure that all the important issues pertaining to the objectives set are identified,
Ulwazi has maintained a two-phased approach: qualitative and quantitative research.

The qualitative phase will include 60 in-depth interviews. Experienced Ulwazi

interviewers will conduct the interviews. Confidentiality for the respondents will be
ensured throughout the process.

Ulwazi recommended a probability sample for the quantitative phase. The sample will
be stratified by ETD constituencies within;

• Pro rata by size of provinces

• Sizes of organisations
• Traditional public institutions and private

A total sample size of 1200 has been suggested depending on the required accuracy
(+-1.7 margin of error) and demographics. Demographic quotas will be decided on
in conjunction with the client, and informed by the previous two phases.

ULWAZI has an extensive know-how on similar projects, is committed to provide the

optimum format of the results to ensure integration into the client’s decision-making
process, and the deliverables will be as stated in the brief.

The costs for conducting all the proposed phases will be:

1. Qualitative phase:

- 60 In-depth interview R102 000 (excl. VAT) R116 280 (inc. VAT)

2. Quantitative: R480 000 (excl VAT) R547 200 (inc. VAT)

Total of: R582 200 (excl VAT) R663 480 (inc. VAT)

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2. BACKGROUND

The ETDP SETA would like to collect, analyses labour market information within the
Education Training and development sector and compile a detailed report.

Ulwazi Research has been asked by the ETDP SETA to submit a proposal for research
that would shed light on the state of Education and Training Development.

This document outlines Ulwazi’s proposal for conducting the research, and specifies
the extent of the information with which we can provide the managers of this
research project.

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3. ULWAZI RESEARCH’S EXPERTISE AND CAPACITY

Ulwazi has extensive experience in surveys of similar nature to the proposed

attendance survey.

Ulwazi has conducted various surveys on skills audit, education and training, and
learnerships surveys for various clients:

• City Of Johannesburg Region 3 – Skills Audit.

• Industry Analyses Survey – This measured various industries with shortage

of designated groups. The recent study looked into research industry, and its
findings were used as the base for the proposal to introduce learnerships for
Marketing and Research level 5 to SAMRA and relevant stakeholders.

• Learnerships, SMME’ and Sport Panel – large panel surveys are being
conducted yearly, which measure various learnerships, SMME and sporting
issues and attitudes towards these issues. Results are being published in
various newspaper publications and radios across the country.

• Boston City Campus and Business College: conducted surveys on learnerships

provided by the institution.

Our recent study on skills audit was carried out for City of Johannesburg Region 3:

“City of Johannesburg Region 3 Social Service and Local Economic Development

departments have worked with Ulwazi for more than a year in a successful attempt
to determine the skills shortage among the youth in region 3.

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On many occasions we have had to make what, in retrospect, could be considered
onerous requests of Ulwazi, especially in terms of time. They have consistently
accommodated us, and have met the Department’s needs, at reasonable cost and in
strict compliance with a pre-determined time table.

“I have no hesitation in suggesting that with Ulwazi, you will be associating yourself
with an organization well known for its integrity, professionalism and wide knowledge
of market research. If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to get in
touch with me.”

Wandile Zwane (Regional Manager)

COJ Region 3 (Social Development)

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 4. WHY USE ULWAZI?

4.1. ULWAZI’S EXPERIENCE

Ulwazi has a highly skilled executive team that offers a wealth of research and
marketing experience for you to draw on. We pride ourselves on selecting the right
calibre of people to form the team. The project director, Manager and Research
Executive are experienced players with strong marketing orientation, skilled in
analyzing data and pinpointing key insights for the strategic action.

4.2. STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

To add value for our client we endeavor to make strategic partnerships with other
organizations to form an outsource model in order to gain competitive strength in the
following department:

 Data capturing

 Call centre (fieldwork)

 Statistician

We also firmly believe in working together with our clients as a team player. This
incorporates getting up to speed on the subject matter quickly, allowing for smother
and better facilitation on the project. This further transpires into more valuable and
effective analysis of the data as input to the marketing strategy of the client
concerned.

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 5. FIELDWORK CAPACITY AND QUALITY

5.1. FIELD CAPACITY

Basic requirements for our interviewers include:

 Must be 18+

 Outgoing personality

 Friendly

 Responsible

 Able to handle respondents who are difficult

 Must be fluent in English

 Must have at least a Matric

 Valid driver’s license is an advantage.

5.2. QUALITY OF INTERVIEWERS

All prospective interviewers are thoroughly trained before conducting any interviews.
Initial training of the interviewers is usually carried out in the form of a training
workshop, and each interviewer is provided with his or her own interviewer training
manual to which he/she can refer, if necessary. Interviewers regularly participate in
refresher courses and are trained continuously.

A record of those attending refresher courses is maintained for quality standard

purposes. The minimum level of education required from interviewers is a
matric/grade 12.

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 Before a survey enters field, a briefing is conducted for that specific survey. A tape-
recoding of the briefing is made available to interviewers in the event of a reference
being required. All briefings will be conducted face-to-face by the field manager,
training manager, or the project manager responsible for the project. Clients will be
invited to attend briefings.

In case of this study, interviewers who will be participating in the survey will conduct
mock interviews in order to ensure that they are familiar with the questionnaire
before embarking on interviewing. Re-briefing on survey are conducted where
necessary.

A minimum 20% back-check on each interviewer’s work is conducted to ensure

accuracy and consistency.

5.3. DATA VERIFICATION

Ulwazi has extremely high standards in terms of data verification. At least 50% of
every batch from each data capturer is verified (captured a second time) by another
data capturer. Should a significant error rate be picked up, 100% of that data
capturer’s work is then verified.

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6. WHO IS ETDP SETA?

The ETDP SETA scope includes all Education, Training and Development Practices.
The ETDP SETA seeks to serve the education and training practitioners’ needs across
the spectrum of Early Childhood development (ECD), General Education and Training
(GET), Further Education and Training (FET) and Higher Education and training (HET);
private provisioning and all education and training employees in the sector.

The sector, further, seeks to co-ordinate the education and training offered across
the Department of Education, Department of Labour, private institution, workplace
education and training and link this to the National Qualification Framework (NQF).
The sector plays a key role in quality assurance in education and training through
providers and practitioners.

The constituencies of the ETDP SETA include:

• Early Childhood development

• Public Further Education and Training – Council as employers
• Public Higher Education Institutions
• Public School Governing Body employees
• Independent Schools
• Libraries and Achieves
• Research Organisations. e.g. Education Foundation, HSRC
• Political Parties as employers and trade Unions as employers
• NGO’s and CBO’s/ (FBO’s*)
• Private Providers of ETD
• Depart of Education
• Non-Profit and profit Organisations as employers*

Ulwazi suggests that the constituencies be grouped into 12 categories as showed

above, and this will be the categories that will be used throughout our proposal.

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7. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The main objective of the research is to collect both qualitative and quantitative
information through exploring the constituency’s knowledge, attitudes, perceptions
and practices regarding the ETDP policies.

Further, specific secondary objectives may be defined as being to:

 The Profile of the ETD SETA Constituencies (the employers and the service
providers.)
 To identify Skills Demands
 To identify Skills Supply and Qualifications
 To investigate Skills Shortage and Development priorities, and
 To establish Factors that affect skills supply or shortage thereof.

Researchers are often criticised for delivering results, which are not significantly
different from the clients’ basic understanding. Our research outputs are specifically
designed to be integrated into strategy. The following section provides a brief
overview of the research approach best suited to enable this process.

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8. RESEARCH CONSIDERATIONS

Ulwazi Research recommends two approaches to the research that is the in-depth
approach (as suggested in the brief we received from the EDTP SETA) and
quantitative in order to profile and measure incidence:

1. Qualitative in-depth to form part of a preliminary investigation

2. An ad-hoc quantitative survey within all constituencies that will quantify

information received from qualitative one.

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9. APPROACH: QUALITATIVE IN-DEPTH

We recommend that a face-to-face in depth interviews be conducted with key

industry players. A range of constituencies will be included.

Qualitative research affords one the opportunity to gain insight into people’s
attitudes and perceptions, and provides a wealth of in-depth information on
an issue. It is important to keep in mind that in-depth research cannot give one
quantifiable results, nor incidence figures (as does quantitative research). Rather it
is a vehicle for gaining detailed in-depth knowledge.

9.1. WHY IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS?

Different industry players have different needs and expectations

Individual clients/competitors and their businesses will have unique needs, problems
and frustrations which should be explored on an individual basis

Allows for the gathering and analysis of information across the segments

Recruiting is easier for In-Depth interviews

The outcome of in-depth interviewing shows the result for a person or company, free
from the influence of others.

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9.2. METHODOLOGY

How the in-depths interview will be conducted?

The questionnaire will be semi-structured and will take 60 minutes to complete. The
areas discussed will focus on the specific objectives mentioned earlier in this
proposal. This type of approach is exploratory in nature and is an excellent vehicle
for investigating perceptions, thoughts and feelings. Because broad discussion
points are used rather than specific questions, in-depth interviews are very
flexible.

• Discussion guide will be semi-structured & take approximately 60

minutes to complete
• Experienced Ulwazi interviewers will conduct interviews
• Interviews will be audio-taped
• Tapes will be transcribed & analysed
• A full report and presentation of findings to the client

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9.3. SAMPLE FRAME

9.3.1. Suggested Sample for Qualitative In-depth

The most important consideration for any sample, whether qualitative or

quantitative, is the quality of the representation. It would be important to cover all
the various constituencies that impact on ETDP and to be able to compare
differences and similarities among sectors. Furthermore, the ETDP may wish to
target specific sectors. This can be discussed beforehand.

Below is a suggested sample:

Constituency Number of interviews

Libraries and Archives 5
Independent schools 5
Trade Unions as employers 5
Research Organisation 5
NGOs/CBOs/FBOs in the ETD Sector 5
Early Childhood Development 5
Private Providers of Education 5
Public Higher Education 5
Public Higher Education and Training 5
Political parties as employers 5
School Governing Bodies 5
Profit and non-profit organisations as 5
employers
Total 60

Viewing facilities will not be possible in any of these areas. We will, however, record
all the interviews on audio cassette.

Output:

Within 14 working days after the final interviews, the Client will receive full, typed
transcripts, in English, of each constituency, together with an audio-recording or a
video tape.

This material will be followed by a detailed analysis with recommendations in report

form, and a visual presentation of the headline findings and recommendations.

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9.4. DISCUSSION GUIDE

A discussion guide will be drafted in consultation with the ETDP SETA. However, as a
research house, we are encouraged to propose on the questionnaire design.

Therefore, we will recommend that Ulwazi executives spend time fully understanding
constituencies, the policies and the past trends within the sector, the organizing
framework for Occupations (OFO).

The in-depth guide will seek perceptions and attitudes of the constituency towards
the policy of ETD on the following concerns:

 Regulatory and policy issues impacting on the ETD sector

 changes in the labour market that will impact on the sector
 social issues The employers hiring intentions over the next
coming quarter
 changes that will impact in the ETD sector and non sector
specific

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9.5. RECAP OF THINGS

Experienced Ulwazi interviewers will conduct these in-depth interviews. The

interviewers receive a thorough briefing of the project requirements from the field
manager and the executive in charge of the project. Appointments are then arranged
with the targeted respondents for the most suitable time to meet.

Incentives for the respondents will be discussed with concerned parties.

Confidentiality for the respondents will be ensured throughout the process.

Respondents are recruited by trained recruiters who are briefed by the field manager
on the specific requirements for the interviews. The recruiting requirements will be
discussed with the EDTP SETA.

Once the recruiting requirements are decided upon, a recruiting questionnaire will be
drawn up to ensure that respondents qualify for the interviews according to the
prescribed quotas. Once the research is agreed upon, the EDTP SETA project
managers will be responsible for approving the recruiting questionnaire.

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10. APPROACH II: AD-HOC QUANTITATIVE SURVEY

A quantitative survey will enable the EDTP to quantify the detailed information
received in the in-depth interviews. Because a larger number of individuals will be
interviewed, based on a sample, a quantitative survey offers a wider scope for
thorough coverage. This phase will also enable the EDTP SETA to profile, measure
incidence and size within the constituency.

10.1. UNIVERSE AND SAMPLE SIZE

All constituency sizes of interest will be covered, e.g. small, medium and large
organisations/companies/institutions. The sample frame will also take into
consideration the geographical location of these organisations.

10.2. SAMPLE SIZE

We recommend two sample sizes: 1200 or 600. Although smaller sample sizes are
possible, this could place a limitation on final analysis (i.e. subsamples could be too
small to analyse separately). Also, reducing the sample will not really be cost-
effective, thus it would be better to use the opportunity to improve the chances of a
detailed analysis, and use a larger sample. We have, nevertheless, provided costs
for both samples of 1200 and 600.

All sample surveys are subjected to statistical error and the results for this study
have to be evaluated against this back ground. Depending on the response rate, the
sample error for 1200 sample size is between 1.7% and 2.3% (1.7 margin of error @
95% respond rate).

10.3. SAMPLING METHOD

The sample will be stratified according to constituency size (small, medium and
Larger), private/public and geographically.

Within constituencies list, respondents will be selected randomly.

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10.4. INTERVIEWING METHOD:

Interviews will be conducted face-to-face in respondents’ places of convenient.

Respondents will have the opportunity to conduct the interview in their home
language, e.g. English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Tsonga, Tswana or North-Sotho.

A minimum 20% of each interviewer’s work will be checked back to ensure that the
correct respondent was reached and properly interviewed. This is part of our
stringent quality control procedures.

For the purpose of this quotation, we have assumed a questionnaire of 20 minutes

(including general demographic questions), with 6 open-ended questions.

10.5. DATA PROCESSING AND OUTPUT:

Completed questionnaires will be returned to our head office in Orange grove, where
they will be thoroughly checked and edited.

At this stage responses to open-ended questions will be coded. Code frames will be
discussed in detail with the ETDP SETA.

Once open-ends are coded, all the data is captured into electronic format and
cleaned. This will enable us to specify the results in tabular format, and ultimately
write a detailed analysis.

Results will be delivered in the form of a written report with recommendations, a

copy of the tables and a visual presentation.

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11. OVERVIEW OF TIMING

Below is a rough estimate of timings for the qualitative research and the ad-hoc
survey.

If both focus groups and an ad-hoc survey are commissioned, we recommend that in-
depth interviews precede the ad-hoc survey. Input from the in-depth interviews will
be valuable in fine-tuning a final questionnaire.

Approach I: Qualitative in-depth interviews

The total survey time, from commissioning of the study, to delivery of final report and
presentation, will be 2 months. This timing is based on 60 in depths interviews.

Approach II: Ad-hoc quantitative survey

The total survey time, from commissioning of the study, to delivery of the final report
and presentation, will be 4 months. This timing is based on a sample of either 1200
or 700 completed interviews.

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12. COSTS

The costs below are based on the suggested sample sizes in the previous sections
and a few permutations, and are intended as a guide. We will gladly supply costs for
more permutations if the ETDP SETA so wishes.

12.1. QUALITATIVE IN DEPTHS:

1. To conduct 60 in depths interviews, the cost will be:

R102 000, 00 (excl. VAT); or R116 280, 00 (incl. 14% VAT); or cost per
respondents R1700, 00

The cost includes:

• Developing a discussion guide
• Recruiting
• Travel and accommodation costs for interviewers
• Audio equipment
• Conducting 60 interviews
• Preparing printed transcripts
• Preparing a detailed report and presentation, with recommendations.
The presentation will be done at the offices of the EDTP SETA.
• General office administration and client liaison.

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12.2. AD-HOC QUANTITATIVE SURVEY:

1. The cost for conducting 1200 face-to-face interviews in a quantitative

survey will be:

R480 000, 00 (excl. VAT); or R547 200, 00 (incl. 14% VAT); or cost per respondents
R400, 00

2. The cost for conducting 600 face-to-face interviews in a quantitative survey

will be:

R290 000, 00 (excl. VAT); or R330 600, 00 (incl. 14% VAT); or cost per respondents
R483, 00

The cost includes:

• Developing a structured questionnaire, no longer than 20 min., with 6
open-ended questions
• Translation of the questionnaire into Tswana, Xhosa, Afrikaans and
North Sotho
• Printing questionnaires and showcards
• Random sampling
• Briefing of interviewers and field managers by the executive in charge
of the project
• Conducting interviews in person
• Interviewers’ travel and accommodation costs
• Back-checking
• Editing, punching and data cleaning
• Specifying tables
• Preparing a final report with recommendations and a visual
presentation. The presentation will be done at the offices of the ETDP SETA
• General office administration and client liaison.

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 13. THE RESEARCH TEAM

For the purpose of this research project, senior people will get together to discuss the
best method of approach and research design to meet the defined client objectives.
This cross pollination approach will be of benefit to our clients. The whole of the
organisational structure and its high level of expertise is available to our clients to
meet their marketing research needs.

Sizwe Khumalo – Managing Director

Prior to joining Ulwazi Research, Sizwe has been with Markinor. He started as a
fieldworker in 1997. He has had hands-on experience with, interviewing, editing,
coding, capturing, check-edits, weighting and tabulation of data. Sizwe was in the
Executive Department of Markinor from 1998 until September 2004.

Sizwe became a Managing Director of Ulwazi in 2004. He has a Graduate Diploma in

Marketing and Research from Vaal Triangle University of Technology.

He completed his diploma in 1997, and two years later attended a strategic
marketing course at the Witwatersrand Technikon, which contributes towards a
B.Tech degree in Marketing and Research.

Sizwe has gained experience in a wide range of industries, but has particular
expertise in FMCG, the sports and electronic media fields. He also played an
important role in the optimisation of long-running studies at Markinor.

Sizwe will be responsible for overseeing the project.

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Mncedisi Sibanyoni

Mncedisi is a project manager. He has graduate certificate in Field Market Research

from Boston Business College and has over 2 years experience in market research.
He is currently enrolled for his diploma in market research with Boston Business
College.

Mncedisi was previously employed by Sulzer SA, as an accounting clerk. In 1993 he

was employed by Nedcor Bank until the year 2000 as an external consultant.
Mncedisi has gain experience in a wide range of products within the banking
industry.

In 2004, he was enrolled by Boston Business College in a learnership and later

employed by Ulwazi Research Company, which was mentoring him. He managed a
number of research project which were all successful.

Mncedisi will be responsible for day to day running of the project.

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