Labour Market Data Critical to Solving Employment Challenges, Says FG

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The federal government under the auspices of the National Employment Council on Tuesday facilitated the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between key line ministries and agencies on Labour market information sharing meant to promote creation of decent jobs.

It said the MoU is to promote more collaboration among the ministries and agencies enabling them to use evidence-based data in their decision-making.

Speaking during signing of the agreement, Minister of Labour and Employment, Alhaji Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi said the event marked, “A collective resolve to move beyond fragmented labour market information systems towards a coordinated national framework capable of generating timely, reliable, and actionable labour market intelligence”.

The minister said the Employment Council remains one of the most important platforms for stakeholder engagement on employment governance in Nigeria.

“Since its establishment, the Council has served as a strategic mechanism for promoting collaboration among government institutions, employers, workers’ organizations, academia, development partners, and other stakeholders in the labour market ecosystem.

“This year’s meeting comes at a critical period in our national development journey. Across the world, labour markets are undergoing profound transformations driven by technological advancement, demographic shifts, changing patterns of work, migration dynamics, climate change, and evolving skills requirements,” he said

The minister said that the measure has become necessary given our youthful population, rapidly expanding labour force, and the need to ensure that economic growth translates into productive employment opportunities.

According to him, the meeting will provide participants with, “an opportunity to review progress made in strengthening employment governance, deliberate on critical labour market issues.”

In her remarks, the Country Director of ILO, Vennessa Phala, said “it is a very important step, a step in the right direction. It will really coordinate the way we share information. As we know, in the digital era, information is power.”

She said that ILO has provided support for Nigeria in the area of labour market information system and many other interventions and the specialities.

Speaking on the theme: “Strengthening Labour Inspection for Effective and Relevant Governance,” Phala said it allows government to identify gaps where they exist, especially as it relates to compliance with national legislation.

She said ILO is supporting Nigeria in reviewing the national employment policy and has continued to drive and promote employment initiatives and coordinate efforts around employment initiatives in Nigeria.

“So, with strong labour inspection capacity, we are able to drive the implementation of the policies in a much more holistic and effective manner. So, this theme is actually very fitting for this meeting,” she said.