3,000 people to benefit from summer job program

SOME 3,000 students and out-of-school youth in Zamboanga City are expected to benefit in the local government’s Special Program for the Employment of Students or SPES.

 

Zamboanag Mayor Beng Climaco speaks to students at the launching of the summer job program.

The annual program is a joint undertaking of the Climaco administration and the Department of Labor and Employment or DOLE. Under the SPES, the City Government will shoulder the 60% of salaries of the students as its counterpart with DOLE paying the remaining 40%.  

Climaco said the City Social Welfare and Development Office will implement the summer job program. She also reminded the students to spend wisely their salaries and help their family at the same time. The program, she added, aims to provide temporary employment to poor, but deserving students, out-of-school youth, and dependents of displaced or would-be displaced workers to augment the family’s income to help ensure that beneficiaries are able to pursue their education.  

Last year, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the local government allocated some P19.83 million for the program that benefited about 2,765 students. Each student received a salary of P10,500 for the 20-day work-period or P525 a day.  

Climaco, whose priority programs include Education, said the SPES beneficiaries will be assigned in different barangays to assist in the office or barangay activities, undertake disinfection and sanitation, and other tasks with strict adherence to the health protocols and community quarantine guidelines.  

And in 2019, more than 2,000 youths benefitted from the program which also lasted 20 days with the City Social Welfare and Development Office taking over the preparations for the implementation of the SPES.

Climaco, who is running for congresswoman in District 1, stressed her administration for the past nine years had always been focused on job opportunities for students to pursue their education because “education has always been one of our top priorities.” 

In 2021, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) released a study showing the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on out-of-school youth. 

The report showed that the number of out-of-school youth in the country rose in the first four months of 2020 from 16.9% to 25.2%. While the study found the pandemic disproportionately impacted education, employment, and livelihood opportunities for out-of-school youth, it identified opportunities to improve the situation of youth and their families through collaboration among government, non-government organizations, businesses, and academia. 

USAID supported the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Technical Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) by integrating new work readiness content into the curriculum for out-of-school youth. Also included in the report is how the pandemic highlighted the importance of environment-friendly and digital skills, which will become even more important as industries move to renewable energy sources and digital operations.

Through its five-year Opportunity 2.0 program which included Zamboanga City, USAID is also helping the country’s Alternative Learning System and technical-vocational education pivot to distance learning to be more accessible to out-of-school youth, and established Youth Development Alliances to help stakeholders collaborate toward common youth development and local economy goals. 

The P1.9 billion ($35.5 million) program will work with DepEd and TESDA to augment their on-going programs and provide relevant education, employability skills, and work experience. The USAID praised Climaco for her continued collaboration on its various projects and programs in Zamboanga and even cited her “visionary leadership” that resulted in many accomplishments. (Zamboanga Post)