Over 400 students target for SPES in Ilocos Norte

LAOAG CITY, March 27 (PIA) –The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in the Ilocos Region has announced that over 400 students in Ilocos Norte will be benefitted from the Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) this summer.

According to DOLE-1 Regional Director Nathaniel Lacambra, their office is set to hire at least 4,184 youth in the region and has allocated P14,478 for the program which is the agency’s 40 percent share in the SPES workers’ salaries.  The remaining 60 percent will be provided by the participating employers.

“This gives an opportunity to assist financially incapable but deserving students in their education needs for 30 days,” Lacambra said.

The regional director also said that the beneficiaries’ employment in SPES will serve as a training ground for their future employment.

Government worker Maria Isabel Macalma, a former SPES beneficiary from Paoay town, shared how the program helped her and her family financially.

“SPES gave a big help to my family especially to my mother. She didn’t have to worry on paying for tuition of my second semester because from what I had earned in SPES, I would use it in buying for my school supplies and at times, grocery items. Sometimes, I’d buy school items for my siblings, too,” Macalma said.

She likewise encouraged all qualified individuals to take advantage of the said employment opportunity.

Application for SPES this summer is ongoing in various municipalities in Ilocos Norte.

For more details, interested applicants may visit the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) near them.  (Ma. Joreina Therese A. Blanco/PIA-1, Ilocos Norte)