Former: International Labour Organisation (ILO) Towards the Elimination of the Worst forms of Child Labour (TECL)

Revised: February 11, 2010

Client: International Labour Organisation (ILO)
Project: Towards the Elimination of the Worst forms of Child Labour (TECL)
Period: 2007 -2008
Vendzulu’s Role: Project Manager to implement, manage & mainstream TECL Pilot Projects on Education in South Africa

Background:

In 2000, South Africa, as a member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), committed itself to taking action against child labour with specific emphasis on the worst forms of child labour. This commitment culminated in the development of the Child Labour Action Programme of South Africa (CLAP), later referred to as the Child Labour Programme of Action (CLPA). Essentially, the CLPA is the overarching framework guiding the public and private sectors in developing and implementing policies and programmes to prevent child labour.

With a view to assist the SA Government in its efforts to combat child labour, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) embarked on funding activities to support the implementation of the CLPA through the Towards the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (TECL) Programme. This Programme is lead by the Department of Labour with the support and close collaboration of all relevant government departments, including the Dept. of Education.

Project Outline:

The Dept. of Education arguably bears the biggest brunt of the adversities of child labour through the undermining of key objectives and targets such as “Education for All.”As such the TECL Programme supports the Dept. of Education through funding and managing the Pilot Project on Education (PPE) which consists of three foci:

  • 1. Raising awareness, identifying and providing assistance to children involved in or at risk of child labour;
  • 2. Capacity building and training; and
  • 3. Mainstreaming, management and consolidation of lessons learnt.

Deliverables achieved:

  •  Following research; a series of activities and workshops that formed part of the PPE; challenges and threats were identified; and most importantly, action points were highlighted for the Department of Education to ensure the sustainability of achievements of the PPE beyond TECL support;
  •  Action programmes to assist children affected by child labour were identified and successfully implemented;
  •  Capacity building materials for different segments of education officials were developed and piloted;
  •  Through best practices and lessons learnt through the PPE, and the comprehensive gathering of data and reporting thereof, the practices and policies of the DoE, were influenced.

Alignment with and coordination – Vendzulu coordinated the progress of all parties involved in the programme, ensuring the sharing of information, gathering data and compiling comprehensive reports.
Mainstreaming – technical support was provided to all relevant parties working on this project.

Conclusion: Implementation, management and mainstreaming of the Project and the technical support provided by Project Management Specialists, ensured that the objectives of the PPE were achieved well within the pre-determined time frames and budget specified by the TECL and its sustainability has been ensured.

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