Child labour in Britain might have died out in the 19th century, but the firm behind a newly opened theme park in Japan clearly sees the value in youngsters knowing what a day at work feels like.
KidZania, a scaled-down replica of a town in the Tokyo suburbs complete with a hospital, beauty salon, bank, television station and pizza shop, invites children to come and work a shift in a choice of 80 different jobs.
At two-thirds of their actual size, all facilities are designed to be the right size for kids. After learning about a job they have chosen and being given a specific task, the children change into a real uniform and start working: pilots navigate airplanes, TV anchors read the news, police officers keep the city safe, and pizza chefs, well, make pizzas.
But rather than receiving a bowl of gruel and lodgings for their hard work, the children are rewarded with KidZos, the park’s official currency which can be exchanged for goods and services at KidZania complexes around the world.
Furthermore, when children open an account at the park’s bank, they receive a real cash card to be used at ATMs and can deposit KidZos into their account for use during their next visit.
With unemployment seemingly still on the rise in Britain, perhaps an adult version of the park wouldn’t be a bad idea either…