By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

THE Federal Government has said it is set to establish a Labour Market Information System (LMIS), aimed at addressing the lack of harmonised information on labour market.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, disclosed this in Abuja as he flagged off a three-day Labour Market Information System (LMIS) Stakeholders Workshop organized to strategize on the framework needed to achieve that.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Ms Kachollom Daju, the Minister stated that the LMIS would play the role of informing and guiding policy makers in devising and implementing active Labour market policies and strategies, designed to close the skills gap in the country, and enhance national planning and development

He explained that LMIS, an initiative of Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, in collaboration with other stakeholders, would harmonize into one platform, all the fragmented labour market information spread across many Ministries and Agencies.

The Minister added that this one-stop shop for labour market information would provide data for national policy making, as well as provide easy access to Labour Market Information by users of such information.

Ngige in a statement by Olajide Oshundun, Head, Press and Public Relations, was quoted as saying, “The availability of reliable, timely and robust labour market information is key for policy-making, education planning, career guidance and enterprise strategies.”

He pointed out that a well-established labour market information system would provide insight into both the supply and demand sides of the labour market, which, ultimately, would help to forecast trends for jobseekers, training institutions, enterprises and policy-makers.

Ngige noted that generating comprehensive, reliable and up-to-date labour market information required an increased collaboration among stakeholders.

The Minister therefore implored all relevant stakeholders to collaborate with the Ministry for a successful implementation of the project.

Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Labour and Employment, Ms Kachollom Daju, represented by Director, Employment and Wages, John Nyamali, stated that the objective of the workshop was to ensure synergy among stakeholders in the generation of information for the Labour Market Information System.