DUSHANBE, June 12, 2015, Asia-Plus -- Around 20 to 30 per cent of children in low income countries complete their school to work transition by the age of 15 and even more leave school prior to this age, says a new International Labor Organization (ILO) report prepared for World Day against Child Labor.

The World Report on Child Labor 2015: Paving the Way to Decent Work for Young People shows that young persons who were burdened by work as children are consistently more likely to have to settle for unpaid family jobs or to be in low paying jobs.

The report shows the need for a coherent policy approach that tackles child labor and the lack of decent jobs for youth together.  Keeping children in school and receiving a good education until at least the minimum age of employment will determine the whole life of a child. It is the only way for a child to acquire the basic knowledge and skills needed for further learning, and for her or his future working life.

The report addresses the twin challenges of eliminating child labor and ensuring decent work for young people.  Based largely on an analysis of data from child labor surveys and school to work transition studies supported by the ILO, it examines the future careers of former child laborers and early school leavers.

The main findings of the report are that: prior involvement in child labor is associated with lower educational attainment, and later in life with jobs that fail to meet basic decent work criteria; early school leavers are less likely to secure stable jobs and are at greater risk of remaining outside the world of work altogether; a high share of 15-17 year olds in many countries are in  jobs that have been classified as hazardous or worst forms of child labor; and those in hazardous work are more likely to have left school early before reaching the legal minimum age of employment.

The report recommends early interventions to get children out of child labor and into school as well as measures to facilitate the transition from school to decent work opportunities for young people.

Particular attention should be given to the 47.5 million young people aged 15-17 in hazardous work and the special vulnerabilities of female children and youth.

National policies should be directed towards removing young people from hazardous jobs or towards removing the hazards in the workplace.

The ILO’s most recent estimate is that 168 million children are in child labor, with 120 million aged 5-14.  The report underscores the critical importance of intervening early in the lifecycle against child labor.