Labour Market Information System (LMIS)

An institutional mechanism should be evolved which can respond to the needs of: (i) employment counselling and vocational guidance, (ii) labour market monitoring, (Hi) generating detailed and disaggregated data on employment-related variables, (iv) providing a feedback to education and training institutions, banking and development financial institutions and policy makers on the changing labour market needs. These are the different elements of a comprehensive LMIS and in the absence of such a system, it is difficult to address effectively employment promotion and manpower development issues.

The system, if developed, needs to be well-integrated, horizontally and vertically, with the concerned government departments, representatives of employers and workers, and DFIs and training institutions. It then should have different tiers. In case of Pakistan, for instance, different tiers could be: (i) union councils, (ii) districts, (iii) provinces, and (iv) the federal level. This system is not difficult to be evolved in the developing countries, neither it would require significant additional financial resources. Streamlining of activities of different departments and integration of private sector and NGOs is, however, visualised.

Source: Poverty Alleviation in Pakistan: Present Scenario and Future Strategy, Mohibul Haq Sahibzada. Republished with permission.