The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), in collaboration with key national and international partners, is convening a crucial three-day national workshop to harmonise statistical concepts and definitions for labour migration and recruitment costs, aiming to address significant inconsistencies that currently hamper evidence-based policymaking.

The workshop, scheduled for the Crismon Hotel in Tema, brings together a wide array of stakeholders, including government ministries, international organisations, academia, trade unions, employers, and civil society groups. The initiative is driven by the recognition that while “labour migration plays a significant role in Ghana’s economic and social development,” the current data landscape is fragmented.

According to the concept note, the existing landscape is “characterized by inconsistencies in concepts, definitions, and methodologies among key data producers.” This undermines the reliability of data needed for critical decision-making, national planning, and reporting on international commitments like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Global Compact for Migration (GCM).

The primary objective is to “enhance the coherence, comparability, and quality of labour migration statistics in Ghana through the adoption of harmonised concepts and definitions.” Specific goals include reviewing existing frameworks, identifying data gaps, and building a consensus on standardised definitions for terms such as ‘migrant worker’ and ‘recruitment costs’.

The workshop will benefit from the technical expertise of the International Labour Organization (ILO). An ILO Senior Specialist on Labour Statistics, Yacouba Diallo, is slated to lead several sessions on international standards and methodologies.

Expected outcomes include a validated set of national definitions aligned with international standards, a harmonisation framework to guide data producers, and strengthened coordination among institutions. Furthermore, a roadmap for integrating these definitions into national data collection systems and SDG reporting will be developed.

The participatory workshop will employ a mix of plenary presentations, expert inputs, and group discussions to build consensus. Follow-up actions will involve disseminating the agreed frameworks, providing technical support for integration into national systems, and initiating capacity-building programmes for data producers.

The initiative underscores a concerted effort to transform how Ghana measures and understands labour migration, a sector with “enormous opportunities for jobs, skills transfer and revenue” if effectively mainstreamed into the national development agenda.