Three hundred slots will be available to students here who want to earn extra income this summer through the government’s Special Program for the Employment Students (SPES) undertaken through the city’s Public Employment Service Office (PESO).

The SPES is held yearly in coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and local government units (LGUs) to give students a chance to augment their family income and to help see them through school.

PESO-Dumaguete chief Ma. Socorro Pastor Mira on Monday said her office will start screening applicants on a first come, first served basis starting March 16.

The 300 slots will be split into two batches considering that the Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) will end its school-year in June, she said.

Those accepted to the summer job program will be assigned to the different offices in the city, working eight hours a day for 20 working days, Mira said.

They will each receive a minimum wage of PHP460 day, which was the same rate as that of last year, compared to the previous years when the SPES beneficiaries only received PHP350 a day, she added.

The sharing of the wages, as stipulated in the program, is 60 percent for the DOLE, and the acceptor (whether LGU or partner private firms) will pay the remaining 40 percent.

Those who may apply are youths aged 15-30 presently enrolled in a public or private school; drop-out youths who wish to enroll in the next school year; sons/daughters of parents whose combined net income should not be more than the annual regional poverty threshold level for a family of six for the preceding year as may be determined by the National Economic Development Authority; and students who have a good passing average grade immediately preceding the summer vacation.

For information on requirements for SPES application, those interested are asked to visit the PESO Dumaguete Facebook page and visit its office at the 2nd floor of Building II of the Public Market Complex, Mira said. (PNA)