Amkor Technology Philippines, Inc.; Max’s Restaurant; Goldilocks Bakeshop; Integrated Manufacturing Services Providers, Inc.; and Maybank Philippines have joined the growing number of private sector companies that have partnered with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in the implementation of the Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES), Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz disclosed yesterday.
Citing the report of DOLE-National Capital Region Director Alan Macaraya, Baldoz said a total of 2,891 job opportunities in these private sector companies and 365 from higher educational institutions (HEIs) in the National Capital Region are being offered for SPES “babies”—as beneficiaries are called—this summer.
“Many companies now recognize the very positive impact of the SPES, so they are willing to partner with us and sponsor students and out-of-school youth [OSY] who will work for them on [a] short-term basis,” Baldoz said, adding that although most SPES sponsors are local government units, there are now schools that are joining the program.
Among the HEIs that have committed to provide short-term jobs for financially challenged but deserving SPES beneficiaries are the Manila Adventist Medical Center, STI-Recto, Christ the King College of Science and Technology, and Olivarez College.
“These HEIs have pledged support and expressed willingness to hire and train students and OSY enrolled under the year-round ‘bridging employment’ program of the department,” Baldoz said.
“We are very happy that the private sector is positively responding to our call for them to hire SPES beneficiaries. We appreciate their support to the program and are grateful they are one with the government in its advocacy of developing the future generation of the Filipino workforce to be prepared for the world of work,” she added.
Just recently, Golden Arches Development Corporation, franchise holder of McDonald’s, sealed a Memorandum of Agreement with the DOLE as a SPES sponsor-partner. After hiring 115 SPES beneficiaries in its successful pilot run last year, McDonald’s for this year will hire 3,666 SPES beneficiaries in all its 330 stores nationwide. Of the number, 1,931 will be working in Metro Manila. McDonald’s has also pledged to increase the number of its beneficiaries in the coming years as the fast food chain expands its operation.
Established in 1992, the SPES, as a work appreciation program, aims to help financially challenged but deserving students pursue their education by encouraging employment of all qualified high school, college, or vocational/technical students and OSY with partner companies.
SPES beneficiaries receive salaries not less than the prevailing minimum wage in the region where they will be employed. Sixty percent of the said amount is paid in cash by the employer, and the remaining 40 percent is paid by the DOLE in the form of education vouchers for the payment of tuition fees and books in any secondary, tertiary, vocational, or technical educational institutions.
SPES beneficiaries are enrolled in the Government Service Insurance System, with the DOLE monitoring the remittance of their insurance premiums. The DOLE also ensures that SPES beneficiaries are not exposed in their work to hazardous activities. However, the Public Employment Service Offices (PESOs) facilitate their exemption from the payment of fees for clearances, such as, but not limited to, barangay and health permits.
Interested students and OSY ages 15–24 and whose parents’ combined income does not exceed P120,000 per year may visit the PESO in their areas for application in the SPES.
Secretary Baldoz has urged more private sector companies to support students and OSY through the SPES as a demonstration of their corporate social responsibility.
“As SPES partners, you will not only help our students and OSY to be prepared as future workers, but will also contribute to their education. It is also a way of giving back a part of your business profits to the communities,” she said.
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