As Pasig City seeks to improve its employment and education services targeting the city’s vulnerable sectors, a total of 507 out-of-school youth (OSY) were granted the opportunity to enhance their skills and actively contribute to local governance.
Around 284 OSYs will start working at the Pasig City Hall and its many offices through the Special Employment for Students (SPES) program.
SPES is a program of the local government in cooperation with the city’s Public Employment Service Office (PESO) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
It aims to give OSYs opportunity for temporary employment, particularly offering work within the local government in order to equip them with professional skills which they can utilize in their future careers.
The SPES beneficiaries were welcomed by Pasig City officials Mayor Vico Sotto, Vice Mayor Robert “Dodot” Jaworski Jr., and the members of the 11th council.
Sotto wished the program beneficiaries to have a “fruitful” working experience and hoped it will help them assist their families.
“Let’s seize the opportunity that the local government is providing for us,” he said.
“Sana balang araw, kayo rin ang maging mga pinuno na magpapatakbo ng ating city hall (I hope that someday, you will become the leaders who will run our city hall),” Jaworski said.
The participants will work in various departments and offices of the city hall for 30 days from November to December 2022.
This is the third batch of the SPES beneficiaries for the year. The first batch, consisting of 500 applicants, were deployed from March to April. A total of 320 OSYs were approved for the second batch and worked from April to May.
Around 60 percent of the funds for the allowances given to the beneficiaries are shouldered by DOLE while 40 percent comes from the Pasig local government.
Through the help of the SPES program, 223 other OSYs were also selected to participate in the Pasig City Youth Development Alliance (PCYDA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Opportunity 2.0 initiative.
According to City Councilor Quin Cruz, 161 OSYs availed of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) scholarships programs while 42 chose to join the separate USAID Opportunity 2.0’s TESDA online courses program, and 20 opted to participate in the Alternative Learning System (ALS).
Opportunity 2.0 is a five-year program that focuses on strengthening educational, training, and employment access and development to OSYs.
It utilizes a multi-sectoral approach, bringing together the Department of Education (DepEd), TESDA, the Education Development Center (EDC), and the PCYDA, along with civil society organizations (CSOs).