By Mariatou Ngum
The Directorate of Employment under the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment (MoTIE) on Wednesday 19th July 2023 concluded a two-day working session on Labour Market and Migration Information System (LMMIS) at the National Nutrition Agency.
The demand for labour data and statistics has become more important, particularly for the formulation of evidence-based programmes and policies. Such data and statistics assist in responding to the needs of the labour market in terms of structure, capacity, access, adequacy, and relevance, among others. Therefore, the timely availability of quality data cannot be overemphasized. In The Gambia, data on labour is produced mainly by The Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBOS) periodically through the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and sometimes by other institutions. This has sometimes resulted in inconsistencies in the reported values of some indicators. Thus, in order to allow for a comprehensive analysis of all facets of the labour market, it is necessary to synchronize as well as systemize all relevant labour market statistics and indicators.
In light of this, a functional Platform for Network, Dialogue, and Action (PENDA) was established in the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment (MOTIE) to assist the Ministry and Government in general, in the provision of timely and accurate data, and to identify and analyse the demand and supply of skilled labour to foster and sustain socioeconomic growth and development. In addition, following the recommendation of ECOWAS for its member states to harmonize their data collection tools particularly those for labour and migration; and MOTIE providing a leading role in coordinating the activities of the PENDA Platform, MOTIE upgraded the Platform for Network, Dialogue and Action (PENDA) in order to capture labourmigration-related data to ease easy access of employment opportunities amongst key stakeholders.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Fabba Jammeh, the director of the Employment Directorate welcomed the participants while thanking them for attending this important working session on Labour Market and Migration Information System (LMMIS).
He informed the participants PENDA was established to assist the Ministry and Government in general, in the provision of accurate data, and to identify and analyse the demand and supply of skilled labour to foster and sustain socioeconomic growth and development.
For his part, Basirou Secka, the principal Labour Economist at the Employment Directorate, said that since the completion of this exercise, MOTIE constituted a committee on the PENDA to not only coordinate and provide guidance but to also facilitate easy access, usage, and dissemination of the information of employment opportunities.