One of the purposes of the meeting between the Focal Points of the Regional Initiative and representatives of the Ministries of Education of the member countries is to be able to identify possible joint actions to end child labor and advance in the reduction of child labor to achieve goal 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals, which in turn will impact the fulfillment of six of the ten goals of Goal 4 of the 2030 Agenda.

Goal 4: "Ensure inclusive, equitable and quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all"

Within this framework, the participants visited the “Aprendiz na escola” experience on the second day of the meeting, a program implemented by the Secretary of Education of the State of Ceará since 2014, in coordination with the Ministry of Labor. The private sector also participates in the experience: the Grendene company, which offers approximately 1,000 places for apprentices, especially those from vulnerable communities settled near the company.

This program is an adaptation of the Apprenticeship Law in force in the country, to extend the service through training in the school, which assumes the role of qualifying institution offering, in addition to the traditional curriculum, specific subjects of the training course chosen by students.

To date, 2,000 students from nine municipalities in the State of Ceará have benefited from professional training and more than 1,000 have been inserted into the labor market.

The Secretariat of Education of Ceará also involved other key actors in Brazil, such as the Alianza Institute, UNESCO and the Unibanco Institute, to reorganize the school curricula at the secondary level in such a way that it adapts to the current demands of the local labor market. . 

It should be noted that this adaptation of the model was built in a participatory manner, as it was also adapted according to the requests of the students themselves, who requested a greater emphasis on learning for work during the process of curriculum reform in secondary education.

This state initiative helps to guarantee the learning of young people during the secondary school stage to acquire the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to enter the labor market in an appropriate way. Along these lines, there are significant reductions in school dropouts.

For this reason, the experience of Fortaleza demonstrates the urgency of finding intersectoral ways to ensure the attendance, retention and school completion of children and adolescents, in such a way that they have the opportunity to enter decent jobs when they reach the minimum age allowed to work in their countries.

What did the attendees say about the “Aprendiz na escola” experience?

• “The project is excellent. These young people have clear ambitions, a life plan and goal for their future. When we spoke with them, I told them to bring others like them to the program, as it offers them opportunities. The methodology is very good, it motivates them to stay in school ”. Carmen Taitt, Regional Focal Point of Workers

• “To see the enthusiasm of the boys in the program who have struggled and overcome their own financial limitations and family difficulties and who have the support of their teachers and the sincere opportunity that the company offers them.” Lina Mejía, COHEP Honduras

• "I was delighted to see that the company does not have apprentices only to comply with the norm, but that it has a real commitment and enables young people to grow personally and professionally according to their abilities. It was also seen that young people have taken on a lot responsibility for the functions assigned to them by the company in its production chain ". Juliana Manrique, ANDI Colombia

• "This program allows many young people to get out of those conflict situations that surround them in their families, I think it is fantastic to be able to expand this in a country like Colombia, where we have cities with high rates of violence and this initiative could make young people interested in the study because it strengthens their training and gives them tools for the future. It is something that can be easily adapted to other countries. " Juliana Manrique, ANDI Colombia

• "Here we are taking into account the problem of youth with regard to education at the secondary level. Fortaleza created a place where they can receive students who really have no possibility of continuing their studies, they have shown these young people that they can do something" . Maxime Mesilas, Director of Secondary Education in Haiti

• "There are two keywords to define this experience: commitment and opportunity. The company and the school are committed to creating alternatives for these young people who live in difficult conditions. Young people have the opportunity to make a difference in the world and in their lives, show their capabilities with what they have learned. " Karen Vansluytman, Focal Point of the Regional Initiative and Vickram Mohabir, of the Ministry of Education of Guyana