admin
Minister said yesterday.
Labour and Social Services Minister Paurina Mpariwa told participants at a workshop on labour market information systems that the availability of information about occupations and labour market trends could compel investors to consider Zimbabwe and most other African countries as important investment destinations.
“For investors and employers to make investment decisions they need information about the size of the labour force, the skills and qualifications, the output of training institutions, the age distribution and many other aspects,” she said.
Participants at the four-day workshop were drawn from the African Regional Labour Administration Centre (ARLAC) member states among them Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, Uganda, South Africa, Mauritius, Ethiopia and Nigeria.
Minister Mpariwa also said information was a vital component of any decision making process in all organisations.
“Every planning system derives its authenticity from a comprehensive information gathering and analysing process, more importantly when that process involves economic and social planning,” she said.
“You will agree with me that it is no longer for policy-makers and planners to emphasise on economic growth as an end in itself.
“Their planning should include issues on decent work, hence the need to recognise the importance of employment and manpower information as part of this economic and social planning process.”
Related Stories…
The workshop, she said, presented an opportunity for social partners to share ideas on labour markets and policies.
“Our information service role should include collection of information, its analysis and dissemination to client groups,” she said.
“We have a duty to facilitate easy access to information that relates to optimum use of manpower through qualitative placements and realistic human resource development.”
Labour market information (LMI) services, Minister Mpariwa said, were important in analysing employment data such as registration, live registers, existing vacancies, placements and employer information in order to arrive at meaningful labour market signals.
Economists say the phenomenon of globalisation was placing much emphasis on the importance of efficient labour market systems for nations to effectively compete in the international socio-economic value chains.
They also suggested that as African countries devolved towards establishing a socio-economically integrated region, it was important for current labour market information to be known.
Having up to date information on the labour dynamics in the region, they say, would enable different social developmental partners to measure the social capital skills or labour shortages and surpluses as well as statistics on unemployment rates and the working age population.
At present, Zimbabwe and most other African countries have unreliable and outdated information on labour markets.
Online Reporter