“Where’s the funding?” Council propels strides towards the light

Fruitful discourse results in setting up of vocational training schools for children

Despite the council moving in circular discussion for the last half an hour, and countries actively seeking funding – to no avail, one sponsor has finally stood up and ended the circular debate, once and for all. The minister of Russia, alongside various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), has joined hands to support the idea of starting up vocational schools for children in lower-income families. The minister of the United States of America (USA), citing current federal budget constraints under the Trump Administration, has abstained from direct financial commitments. 

The Alternative Learning Tracks (ALT) framework, proposed by the Minister of Singapore, has seen to be the leading framework in which multiple countries actively support and agree with. Proposing flexible education pathways to victims of child labour in order to persuade children and their families into choosing education over labour, the Minister of Singapore is working to support ASEAN Member States in implementing non-traditional education such as weekend classes, mobile schools and work-study integration. Due to the minister of the USA’s inability to fund these projects, they have instead directed their help over to streamlining the progress of these efforts. 

The minister of the USA is presently helping with the coordination of manpower and funding efforts by NGOs to make them more effective. Guiding NGO funding to target regions that require the most help, organizing an independent regional body to manage the funding and manpower coordination, and upholding transparency by releasing monthly audits of funds are among solutions the minister of the USA has actively advocated for and is trying to implement. 

“That’s not help, that’s horror.” This sentiment shared by the Minister of Laos has pulled at the minister of USA’s heartstrings as they are now more driven to resolving the issue of child labour by supplementing more of their help.

Hope for progress is bleak… but nevertheless one can hope.

There is a strong need of using vocational education as a tool to combat child labour internationally. Particularly, the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) has invested heavily in projects providing educational and social services to withdraw children from exploitative labour whilst warranting the prevention of such cases in the future. On an international scale, the importance of ensuring international cooperation has never been more crucial, as USDOL actively works with various organisations in over 75 countries to implement such vocational projects addressing forced and child labour.

The minister of the USA seems to be well aware of the international importance of the issue of child labour. They are proactively working with a variety of ASEAN governments to launch a call for volunteers to engage with families of suspected child labour, encouraging their families to send their children to vocational education programmes and providing education as an alternative to labour. With multiple countries’ ministers proposing to subsidize education for such families, and the minister of the USA’s support for this, the minister of the USA has made clear their stance for the support of vocational education as a means to combat child labour.

Is this lack of funding truly beneficial? 

From a financial standpoint, the withdrawal of direct funding from the minister of the USA may not be the most economically effective approach. Empirical data links an increase in vocational education to increases in human productivity and labour market participation rates. Investments in skills training generates a multiplier effect in the economy, benefitting both the countries’ economies and investors. Equipping people with technical skills reaps many benefits for the economy – thriving businesses, a decrease in unemployment rates, competitive industries and expanded investment opportunities are some examples. For investors, thriving businesses would generate higher returns on their investments and greater financial gains. A higher-skilled labour force enhances the operational efficiency of enterprises and boosts consumption through higher disposable incomes. Generally, vocational education provides a skilled workforce and contributes to overall economic development and prosperity, reiterating the point that funding vocational education can reap profits for the United States, investors, and communities involved.

Through American multinational corporations, ASEAN nations may benefit from a trade surplus exceeding US$250 billion, as increases in the quality of labour in ASEAN nations would increase the value of goods traded with the United States. With ASEAN being the United States’ fourth largest trading partner, ASEAN nations are becoming increasingly important to US businesses and its government, no matter the domestic stance that the Trump administration has adopted.

As the ministers deliberate on a solution to end child labour within the ASEAN region, perhaps it may be time for America to take the first step forward in investing in the people of ASEAN, rather than merely adhering to the systems proposed.

Written by Klaus Lucas Yeo, Yee Min En, and Bethany Mary Piper

Bibliography

DOL. “Eliminate Exploitive Child Labor Through Education and Economic Development (EXCEED),” n.d., 

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/eliminate-exploitive-child-labor-through-education-and-economic development-exceed. 

Federal Register. “Combating Exploitive Child Labor Through Education,” April 8, 2008. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2008/04/08/E8-7231/combating-exploitive-child-l abor-through-education#:~:text=Background%20Information:%20Since%201995%2C%20U SDOL,under%2018%20years%20of%20age. 

LSI. “The Role of Vocational Training in Economic Development - LSI.” April 14, 2025. https://lsiwins.com/the-role-of-vocational-training-in-economic-development/.