Regional Strategy for Technical and Vocational Education and Training

Caribbean Community Secretariat Competency - based Curriculum Design
TVET Council, Barbados - Ministry of Labour and Social Security,
Barbados, 19 to 23 November 2001

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Section 4 Manpower Planning for TVET

Major Action: Develop a Labour Market Information System

Rationale

A Labour Market Information System (LMIS) can provide useful information for formulating development plans and employment policies and programmes and for providing direction to developments in TVET. Labour Market Information can be defined as any qualitative or quantitative information concerning the size and composition of the Labour Market, or any part of it, the way it functions, its problems, the opportunities which may be available to it, and the employment related situations, intentions or aspirations of those who are part of it.

The LMIS is of specific relevance to TVET since it can provide information on a range of issues such as:

-the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the labour force, and the composition of employment, unemployment and under-employment;
-the occupation/industrial structure of the employed/ unemployed (last job held) labour force;
-the basic framework in which projections about future employment and labour force trends can be made;
-estimation of training needs by occupation and education/training qualifications and projections for the future.

The system has two components: demand and supply. It has five essential features. It should be comprehensive, up-to-date, economical, linked with major producers and consumers of LMI, and established within an adequate institutional framework. The level of detail, efficiency and accuracy required will be determined by each Member State. Existing data collection activities in various sectors can be used in establishing the system. Considerations for the design of the system are:

(a) the identification of users and their needs;
(b) the orientation of data normally collected;
(c) the identification of available indicators to describe employment trends, as well as the nature of and changes in the labour force;
(d) the training of persons in data collection, analysis and reporting techniques; and
(e) the utilization of existing data-gathering machinery.

The LMIS would provide the basis upon which the National Training Agency would orient programmes to meet the projected needs.

Some of the outputs of the LMIS are regular bulletins containing an assessment of occupational outlook, up- dated information on Labour Market issues, vocational guidance and other policy-oriented information for decision-making in TVET. For the LMIS to provide information to the necessary detail and precision the following instruments need to be developed following existing inter- national recommendations:

-A Directory of Occupations;
-Standard Industrial Classification;
-Standard Classification of Education and Training.

A great deal of work has been done in developing these instruments and in establishing an LMIS in some Member States. As a cost-effective measure and to ensure compatibility and ease of referencing, Member States can benefit from systems already established or being established through bilateral agreements.

The LMIS has the following characteristics:

Features

-Comprehensive framework;
-Up-to-date;
-Economical;
-Supported through necessary linkages between LMI users and producers;
-Adequate institutional framework.

Information Blocks

-Patterns and trends of employment opportunities and manpower requirements;
-Characteristics of supply and demand;
-Wage structure by occupational group and industrial sector;
-Performance of skill-generating institutes.

Information inputs

-Administrative records;
-Census and Surveys;
-Special Studies;
-Qualitative Information;
-Technological Trends;
-Economic Trends (national accounts data);
-Collective bargaining agreements.

Outputs

-Regular Bulletins;
-Assessment of Occupational Outlook;
-Information on Labour Market Issues;
-Vocational Guidance;
-Policy-oriented information for decision-making in TVET;
-Annual Labour Market Reports (on some of the above items).

A unit or a committee will be required to develop and service a Labour Market Information System. The Ministry or Agency where this committee is located will be determined by each Member State. The Ministry or Agency selected would provide a Secretariat (not necessarily full- time) to support the work of the committee.

Composition

Representatives from:

-Ministry of Education;
-Ministry of Planning;
-Ministry of Labour;
-Ministry of Finance;
-Statistical office;
-Technical/Vocational Institutes;
-Employers/Chambers of Commerce;
-Trade Unions;
-Key areas of Industry /Manufacturing.

Functions

The functions of this committee will include:

(i) evaluation of existing data and available indicators to describe the nature of and changes in the composition of employment and the characteristics of the labor force;
(ii) development and implementation of action and link- ages to produce LMI outputs on a regular basis and to promote their full use by relevant policy- and decision- makers through liaison with the National Training Agency;
(iii) determination of resource inputs necessary for the development of an LMIS;
(iv) development of the following instruments (following existing international recommendations):

-Dictionary of Occupations;
-Standard Industrial Classification;
-Standard Classification of Education and Training.

 

 

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