Feb. 26 — The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO’s) sub-regional Office for the Caribbean, will from 1st – 5th March, 2010 convene a regional workshop in Grenada on data processing, tabulation and database management for a harmonised labour force survey for the OECS. The main objectives of the workshop are to design the data processing routines and computer programmes for the upcoming pilot of the OECS Labour Force Survey. This workshop will build on the training received By OECS statisticians at a seminar on the practical application of labour force sampling methodologies and techniques held at the end of January earlier this year. The OECS Secretariat met recently with Directors of the National Statistical Offices of the OECS during this first quarter of 2010, to discuss and commit to a series of actions geared towards agreement on a pilot common approach to the piloting of the OECS Labour Force Survey. So far the Secretariat and the Directors have agreed on a harmonised survey methodology, a generic questionnaire, a single survey manual, a harmonised tabulation programme and a common system to manage the micro data that will be generated from the survey. This harmonised approach to the collection, compilation and dissemination of statistics on the OECS labour force will contribute significantly to the body of economic and social data and information necessary to build and properly manage the OECS Economic Union. This training activity, which is the third in a series planned to culminate in the establishment of an OECS Labour Market Information Systems (LMIS) By the end of 2010, is being supported with funding from the World Bank Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building, and technical assistance from the ILO and UN-ECLAC. Source: Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
