A two member team from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission and the Labour Department in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is in the Territory on a Technical Assistance Mission to install the Labour Market Information System (LMIS) and server.

IT Assistant in the Information Technology Unit at the OECS Commission, Mr. Stephan Paul, and Employment Officer at the Labour Department on the island of St. Vincent, Ms. Cherry-Ann Williams, arrived in the Territory on Sunday, October 25.

The team will also conduct a one week training session on the use of the Labour Market Information System. The OECS LMIS programme is part of and a direct outcome of the Memorandum of Understanding between the ILO and the OECS Secretariat. The collaborations between the OECS Secretariat and the ILO’s Sub-Regional Office for the Caribbean have resulted in the piloting of two components of the OECS LMIS programme.

Labour Commissioner, Mrs Janice Rymer said the OECS Labour Force Survey was piloted in Grenada, utilising a harmonised common OECS Labour Force questionnaire and the Department of Labour component of the OECS LMIS programme, i.e. the deployment/installation of the computerisation of Labour Administration System (LAS) version 1.0 was piloted in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Mrs. Rymer said through the Labour Market Information (LMI), the Territory will better understand how economic growth and wealth creation translate into human development. 

She said, “We need LMI to plan, monitor and compare our achievements in these areas. The LMIS uses statistical indictors as well as news stories or more formal analysis reports to inform stakeholders regarding progress in providing quality work for all, improving productivity and developing our economy with equity.”

Mrs. Rymer said the global economic and financial crisis, which became evident in early 2009 impacted heavily on the Caribbean region as a whole.  She stated that as a result, the demand for LMI has increased.  Therefore, national agencies involved in the labour market must expand their efforts to produce more and better LMI and make it available to policy makers and the wider public.

The Labour Commissioner added, “LMI comes from many sources which are managed by different institutions, and this information is released with diverging frequency.  Harnessing all this information together is often a challenge in itself.  Therefore, the collaborative effort of the agencies that produce, own and disseminate LMI is essential to put more and better LMI in the hand of Virgin Islanders.”

She further stated that sharing of data will facilitate analysing a wide range of labour market indicators, resulting in better packaging of timely Labour Market Information and ensure that it is user friendly and cost efficient.

At present, the direct stakeholders that will be taking part in the implementation of this LMIS initiative are the Central Statistics Office, Social Security Board and the Labour Department.