The Cabinet meeting of Wednesday, January 28, was briefed on the integrated Labour Management Information System (LMIS), a platform designed to support evidence-based employment planning and drive broader economic transformation.
Abdou Musonera, Head of Labour Market Interventions at the Ministry of Public Service and Labour (MIFOTRA), explains key information about the new system and how it could help policy decisions.
1. Labour market data
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The LMIS is conceived as a national portal that consolidates labour market information from government institutions, the private sector, and training providers into a single digital system.
"In the first place, we will connect with HR companies as they recruit on behalf of employers," Musonera said.
2. Tracking job creation
Musonera said the platform supports tracking of job creation, the labour market relevance of skills development and re-skilling programmes, internships and apprenticeships. There is also youth employability, and employment outcomes linked to major public and private investment projects.
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It enables real-time tracking of job creation, allowing jobs generated through public projects, private investments, and self-employment to be monitored more accurately and consistently.
3. Matching skills with labour market needs
The LMIS identifies which skills are in demand, which ones are oversupplied, and where gaps exist, helping people train for the right jobs.
"Labour market intelligence generated through the LMIS supports evidence-based decision-making across employment, skills development, education planning, and economic transformation," Musonera explained.
The platform serves multiple users, including youth and jobseekers, employers, training providers, and government decision-makers.
4. One-stop digital platform
The system is designed as a single national entry point for employment and skills development information.
"The upgraded LMIS will function as a one-stop national digital platform for skills development and job creation, serving jobseekers, employers, training providers, and policymakers, while ensuring interoperability of systems for real-time tracking of job creation and employment outcomes across public, private, and self-employment sectors," he said.
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5. National Skills Inventory to be created
The system will support the establishment of a National Skills Inventory, providing an up-to-date mapping of skills supply, demand, and gaps. This will strengthen job matching for mass employment efforts, link skills development to labour market needs, enhance labour market analytics, and support evidence-based policymaking.
6. Evidence-based policymaking
Labour market intelligence from LMIS will guide employment policies, education planning, and economic transformation strategies.
"Strengthening the LMIS will enable a coordinated, data-driven labour market system that improves labour market matching," Musonera said.
"It aligns skills development with current and future labour demand; enables systematic monitoring of job creation outcomes; strengthens evidence-based policymaking; and delivers integrated employment and skills services to youth, jobseekers, and employers--critical for economic transformation."
7. Oversight committee
The LMIS will be governed through a multi-institutional framework comprising a Steering Committee, providing strategic oversight and policy direction, and a Technical Working Group, responsible for technical coordination, data harmonisation, and quality assurance.
Key institutions include MIFOTRA, MINECOFIN, MINEDUC, Ministry of Youth and Arts, MINICT, NISR, RDB, PSF, private recruitment agencies, professional bodies, and research institutions.
MIFOTRA is specifically responsible for providing overall policy leadership and oversight of the LMIS.
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"Its responsibilities include defining labour market policy priorities, ensuring alignment with employment strategies, and promoting the use of LMIS outputs in programme design and monitoring. MIFOTRA will also coordinate LMIS governance and link labour market intelligence to private-sector development, investment promotion, and skills planning initiatives," he explained.
Data protection and privacy
The strengthened LMIS will operate in full compliance with Rwanda's data protection and privacy legal framework.
Clear data governance and data-sharing arrangements, supported by robust technical safeguards, will ensure secure, confidential, and lawful use of information.
"LMIS analysis and reporting will rely on anonymised and aggregated data to protect individual privacy, while a dedicated legal framework will enable private recruitment agencies to participate responsibly and contribute standardised labour market information in line with ethical and data protection standards," Musonera added.
