1. Determining and predicting skills in labour markets has been one of the major challenges facing human resource and employment policy-makers and planners in most African countries in the postindependence era. The establishment of functional Labor Market Information Systems is seen as a concrete basis for the early and accurate identification of skills needs in national economies and for analysing labor market and skill development policies to promote productive employment and sustainable development.
2. Using the Gambia as a case-study, and focusing on guidelines for establishing, operating and managing LMISs, the paper addresses key issues pertaining to the mechanisms for the collection and analysis of labour statistics and information and the institutional arrangements in both the public and private spheres that are required for the effective and efficient functioning of a national LMIS, particularly in the context of skills development. While it elaborates and clarifies relevant theoretical and conceptual issues, the main thrust of the case study however is on practical and operational issues pertaining to processes and procedures for collecting and analysing labour market statistics and information; roles and functions of both producers and users of labour market data; and methods and guidelines for data analysis and policy formulation.
3. As African economies become more developed and complex, and also as they become more integrated with the global economy, the need for functionally effective and efficiently managed LMISs is indispensable. Information on how labor markets function, including job opportunities and employmentrelated intentions and aspirations can be extremely useful for addressing the mismatch between labor supply and demand, which underlies the serious problem of youth unemployment in many African countries. Information from LMISs would be crucial for predicting the skills needs of African economies in an era of globalization and internationalization of labor markets. The experience of The Gambia provides illustrative examples of the capacity and resource challenges that African countries are likely to face in setting up and operating a national LMIS, but at the same time offers empirical evidence of the benefits that could derived from the availability of timely and reliable labour market data for determining skills needs of national economies.