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Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 01, 2022 (SKNIS): Enumerator training is an extremely important part of primary data collection. As such, officials from the Department of Statistics in St. Kitts and Nevis are currently in the process of training enumerators who will be going out into the field to conduct the household interviews for the upcoming 2021 Population and Housing Census.

Corneil Williams, Social Statistician in the Department of Statistics, and Deputy Census Officer with responsibility for field operations for the Population and Housing Census said that the training is extremely valuable.

“The training is critical. The persons learned first and foremost how they are supposed to interview the persons going door to door, the questions they are supposed to ask and they also learned how to utilize the tools we are going to give them, that is, the questionnaire on the tablets, the map and the visitation record,” said Mr. Williams. “So, it is critical that they learn the techniques of utilizing these things to make this happen.”

Mr. Williams noted that enumerators are trained to respond to any challenges faced while in the field.

“We actually did a host of scenarios and one was on interaction. So, we show them hey, look, you may find a person who is combative, a person who is resistant just to the idea of people coming to their door asking them personal questions,” he said. “We advised them on what to look for and how best to anticipate and react to these situations as they come about.”

The Deputy Census Officer noted that all data collected is confidential. He added that the Department of Statistics would not, in any way, disclose anyone’s information and assured that the enumerators signed an oath of confidentiality where legally they can be prosecuted if they fail to adhere to the rules. He encouraged households to give their full support and actively participate. 

Approximately 160 persons are being trained to carry out responsibility as field enumerators.