During the week of 6 to 10 December 2010, tralac and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) conducted a trade data analysis session focusing on preparing market access offers when negotiating preferential trade agreements.

The core focus of such ‘Geek Weeks’ is to provide participants with the basic skills needed when analysing trade data for use in research, policy formulation and decision making.  The emphasis is on a “hands on” approach to obtaining, analysing and interpreting international trade and tariff data.

Below is some feedback from the participants at this Geek Week.

Thembekile Mlangeni (Director: Trade Policy and Negotiations: Market Access): “I would like to thank Tralac for the trade analysis course offered to us. It has been very relevant to the work we are involved in at the dti. We hope the team will be able to make a difference in the kind of work that we do. The skills acquired in the course are needed in ITED; each official working in ITED would benefit immensely from the course, as the course would make our work easy. It forms the basis for our work. Thank you!”

Mputle Seloane (Assistant Director: Multilateral Organisations): “The course for me was interesting, mind stimulating and relevant for my career and the ITED division as well. The facilitators were very helpful and patient with all of us, I think the guys have a wealth of knowledge in this field. I would really recommend this to my colleagues back in the office. Keep up the good job.”

Yandeya Mashau (Deputy Director: Americas Bilateral Trade Relations - International Trade and Economic Relations): “The dti Geek Week experience was career enhancing for my field of work. Firstly, it broadened my skills in terms of trade analysis. For instance, although my work entails trade analysis on a regular basis, I did not know anything about tools such as pivot tables, concordance tables and trade chilling. Secondly, although when I joined the Americas Bilateral Trade Relations, the SACU-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement was already negotiated and completed, the course gave me skills to critically analyse the agreement and this will also help in the future negotiations of deepening the agreement. I would recommend the course to anyone whose line work entails trade analysis.”

Tshifhiwa  P.  Mahosi (Assistant Director: Market Access -Trade Policy & Negotiations Directorate - International Trade & Development Division (ITED)): “I am very grateful for the opportunity I had of taking part in the DTI-TRALAC Geek week or data analysis course. Working with trade and tariff data on a daily basis in the office, I can now confidently say that my output will be highly enhanced by the skills learnt during this week and I can only recommend that this course be compulsory for all employees, at least within ITED-DTI. The course does definitely open one's eyes to the wonders and limitless possibilities of Microsoft Excel as an analysis and presentation tool. I am indeed empowered, and much appreciation to the TRALAC team who guided us through the course, including clarity on some of our even mundane questions as they took us through the paces.”