2. Urges the Member States to implement urgent structural reforms of all levels of education, but in particular vocational education and training (VET), including apprenticeships and internships that include a strong work-based learning component, in order to help young people acquire the skills needed for their successful entry into the labour market and thus facilitate school-to-work transitions, to improve the employability and life skills of young people, and to contribute to the competitiveness of the EU economy; underlines, in this context, that exploitation of the potential of mutual learning and a successful exploration of best practices ...[+++] are only possible if the specific strengths of each respective national system are fully taken into account;

Z. whereas empirical evidence suggests that, in times of economic crisis, when education budgets are reduced, more children will prematurely leave school or not attend at all to join the workforce; whereas over 190 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are forced to work, with one in four children aged 5-17 being used as child labourers in sub-Saharan Africa, compared to one in eight in Asia-Pacific and one in ten in Latin America and the Caribbean; whereas girls in particular are at a higher risk of being taken out of school and forced into child labour or domestic work at home; whereas this creates a negative impact on child ...[+++] welfare and the right to education, and in the long term affects the quality of the labour force and overall development;

Z. whereas empirical evidence suggests that, in times of economic crisis, when education budgets are reduced, more children will prematurely leave school or not attend at all to join the workforce; whereas over 190 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are forced to work, with one in four children aged 5-17 being used as child labourers in sub-Saharan Africa, compared to one in eight in Asia-Pacific and one in ten in Latin America and the Caribbean; whereas girls in particular are at a higher risk of being taken out of school and forced into child labour or domestic work at home; whereas this creates a negative impact on chil ...[+++]d welfare and the right to education, and in the long term affects the quality of the labour force and overall development;

The number of people leaving education and vocational training early must be restricted, and it must be made easier to move from school to work, especially for those leaving school with low qualifications.

Easing the transition from school to work

As regards the guidelines, I would like to talk specifically about the part which concerns the transition from school to work.