Background

ILO-IPEC in collaboration with some implementing partners has been implementing action programs to withdraw and prevent child laborers from various sectors. Through these action programs, a number of child laborers and at risk children have been withdrawn and or prevented from the worst forms of child labour. However, many withdrawn and prevented children are vulnerable to relapse into Worst Forms of Child Labor (WFCL) when they cannot find better alternatives.

In withdrawing and preventing children from WFCL, the ILO-IPEC supported action programs provide various education services, including vocational skills to the children. Ex child labourers and at risk children would need quality vocational skills to be able to get decent work in the future. In addition, it is very important to equip ex child labourers and at risk children with life skill education so that the children could protect themselves from hazardous work. In an attempt to improve the vocational and life skills of the children, and in collaboration with the International Garment Training Centre (IGTC), ILO-IPEC will provide vocational and life skill training for 30 ex child laborers and at risk children. The vocational training to be provided is sewing operator training for which there is a market in the garment industry in Indonesia. Textile and garments are among the major contributors to the Indonesia’s exporting industries. In 2088 exports reached US$ 10 billion. The industry is Indonesia’s second largest employer with over 1.5 million workers.

Programme Strategy

In coordination with the NGOs which are the IPEC’s implementing partners, ILO-IPEC will identify the ex child laborers and at risk children who are interested, motivated and got permission from their parents to participate in the training. There will be a simple test to measure the motivation of the children.The children will be selected from Jakarta, West Java and East Java.

The vocational training to be provided will be a Sewing Operator Training (SOP Training) which is needed by all garment industries nowadays. This training emphasizes basic sewing techniques for export oriented industries. This type of training can be participated by those who have graduated only from elementary school which is one of the characteristics of most child laborers and at risk children. The Sewing Operator Training will be delivered by International Garment Training Centre (IGTC) which has experience in providing trainings for almost 10 years.

The overall training will be delivered in 6 weeks and the curriculum will be structured as follows:

1. Introduction

2. Tools

3. Handling Machine

4. Sewing

5. Handing special machine

6. Pattern Knowledge

7. Cutting knowledge

8. Top Project

9. Bottom Project

10. Quality Control

During the training duration, the children will be required to stay in IGTC dormitory. ILO-IPEC will seek children’s parents’ permission for their children to participate in the training, including staying in the dormitory during the training. The children will be allowed to visit their home once during the training duration which is in the third week of the training and the travel cost will be covered by the ILO. Social workers from implementing partners will accompany the children during their travel.

The sewing training will be enriched with the life skill education program aimed at empowering the children so that they can protect themselves from engaging in the worst forms of child labor. While the IGTC will be responsible for delivering the vocational training, the life skill component will be delivered by the ILO-IPEC staff using the week end. In delivering the life skills, ILO-IPEC will use 3 R Trainers’ Kit as the resource.

Monitoring and Assessment

IGTC will monitor and assess the participation and achievement of the children using the tools that they usually use in monitoring and assessing the training that they deliver. IGTC will share information on the progress achieved by the children with the ILO-IPEC.

ILO-IPEC will monitor the children’s participation in the life skill education program and monitor them using the project Direct Beneficiaries Monitoring and Reporting (DBMR) System. DBMR is used to achieve improved coherence, accountability, monitoring, quality assurance and evaluation. DBMR is a concrete tool for systematically monitoring and reporting on all direct beneficiaries. DBMR aims to ensure that all IPEC projects and action programs working globally will report on children withdrawn and prevented in a consistent and unambiguous manner. It does so by documenting the identification and intake of the beneficiary under the AP, the changes in education, work and other conditions of the beneficiary during the AP and the withdrawal or prevention process of direct child beneficiaries from child labor in accordance with project definition and criteria.

The DBMR documents the sustainability of withdrawal or prevention by following up beneficiaries after withdrawal or prevention has taken place, for the duration stated in the project DBMR manual. As these children have previously received services from an ILO-IPEC supported action program, the monitoring will be a continuation from the previous monitoring. The purpose of reporting to the donor, these children have already been counted and therefore will only be reported as children receiving the lengthened services only.