PhD Project

Thesis Title: Labour Market Information System

Thesis Abstract

The need for a properly managed labor market information system (LMIS) has been the focus of intense discussion in Jamaica, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and several countries of the global community, for several years. The discussions have proceeded with the involvement of government and the private sector.

What is absent, however, is the existence of a model which can be applied to different countries. In a world where globalization has become the norm, this absence is glaring. The absence of such a model has also been an unfortunate omission from the field of strategic information systems.

This project proposes a solution to the LMIS dilemma: an LMIS model which may be applied, to any country with concerns and interests related to management of it labor force.

The methods employed were based on established principles of software engineering and may be summarized as:

  • system investigation and analysis which drew from the object oriented approach, as well as the function oriented approach;

  • construction of an LMIS model based on the relational model, aspects of object oriented design and function oriented design;

  • development of an LMIS prototype;

  • obtaining user feedback on the prototype through a series of demonstrations and seminars with prospective users of an LMIS, information systems (IS) professionals and members of the academic community.

Based on the responses obtained from seminar participants, the consensus is that the prototype adequately represents the model developed, and in its current state, is relevant and adaptable to the needs of different countries.

A computerized LMIS has significant promise for the improved efficiency of operation of government in areas such as strategic planning for human resource development, as well as management and monitoring of the labor market. The system will also provide competitive advantage for participating organizations. The project therefore provides an abridgement to a previously glaring void in the field of strategic information systems.

Summary of the Project Activities

The LMIS project involved a detailed study of labor markets in various countries (including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, etc.). Next, a model was designed and constructed, which would lead to the development and implementation of a strategic information system that would facilitate the work of labor market information (LMI) experts, as well as economic planners and managers at various levels of the economy. The result was the development of a generic labor market information system (LMIS) and prototype with the following salient features:

  • The model was adaptable to any country or region.

  • The model was expandable into a generic Market Information System, involving not just the study of the labor market, but the financial market as well as the stock market.

  • The prototype included a distributed relational database back-end and an object oriented user interface as the front-end.

  • The model and prototype included a forecasting model which gave users the option of conducting forecasts on the performance of the labor market, based on moving averages as well as regression analysis.

  • The model and prototype provided a number of original methodologies for the software engineering arena. These included the information topology chart (ITC), the user interface topology chart (UITC), an object naming convention (ONC) for software engineering projects, and a framework and requirements for the development of a dynamic menu interface designer (DMID).

  • The project also proposes set of forecasting algorithms based on regression analysis and moving averages, whereby, in an on-line interactive session, the user has the flexibility of setting the time constraints, selecting what data will participate in the analysis, and evaluating the fit of the regression line (within the 95% confidence interval). 


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