DOLE-NegOcc kicks off SPES implementation

BACOLOD City – The Department of Labor and Employment-Negros Occidental Field Office (DOLE-NOFO) kicked off the implementation of its Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) for 2019 with a series of preparatory activities like the Per Partner Employer Beneficiaries Orientation and Mentoring and Updating Session.

SPES is an employment-bridging program during summer vacations and semestral breaks or Christmas vacations that aims to augment the family income of poor but deserving students, out-of-school youths or dependents of displaced workers who intend to finish their education.

The Implementing Rules and Regulations of this program has been improved and enhanced in 2017 to reach out to more disadvantaged youths in the communities as well as increase the participation of partner employers from the Local Government Units, Academe, and Non-government organizations in the implementation of the program.

The 2019 SPES shall strictly implement a new Applicable Hiring rate for the LGUs in compliance to the Local Budget Circular No. 115 adopting the third tranche compensation adjustment for Local Government Personnel.

The DOLE NOFO will be implementing the program with a total budget of around Php8.3 Million which was allocated to 18 LGU Municipalities and Cities partner employers and 15 partner employers from the Academe and NGO which are expected to place 2,437 beneficiaries.

The series of SPES preparatory activities started with Pre-Implementation Re-orientation/Updating sessionsconducted in February 22 and 25, 2019, involving PESO Managers of LGUs which have successfully submitted Pledges of Commitment to DOLE to be partners in the 2019 implementation of the program.

It was followed by a series of Orientation/Mentoring sessions involving the partner employers from the Academe and NGOs conducted last March 4-13, 2019 which aims to level-off updates on the procedures/process flow of the program, specifically on the preparation and assessment of employment documents and other requirements for a more efficient 2019 SPES implementation.

DOLE NOFO has been implementing pro-active initiatives in order to ensure the effective implementation of its various programs and services consistent to its commitment to ensure employability and competitiveness of workers aligned to the decent work agenda.