Manila – Students that have been under the Department of Labor and Employment’s Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) have increased their likelihood of currently working by 3.9% compared to those not chosen to receive the said program.

This was among the key findings during the presentation of results of the Impact Evaluation for the SPES Program held last August 18 at the Bayleaf Hotel in Intramuros, Manila hosted by the Institute for Labor Studies as the lead of the DOLE-Technical Working Group (DOLE-TWG).

In attendance were Assistant Secretary Alex V. Avila, as the TWG Chairperson, Director Dominique R. Tutay of the Bureau of Local Employment, ILS OIC- Deputy Executive Director Atty. Brenalyn A. Peji, ILS researchers from the Employment Research Division led by OIC-Chief LEO Ma. Isabel Artajo, and representatives from DOLE Regional Office in NCR, Regions III, VI, VII, and XI, National Economic and Development Authority, and Department of Education.

Dr. Emily Beam, Principal Investigator from the Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), led the presentation of findings, together with IPA Senior Research Associate Ms. Heather Richmond and Ms. Nassreena Sampaco-Baddiri, Country Director for IPA.

Results also revealed that participation in SPES increases students’ confidence about their labor market prospects. Specifically, SPES participation increases the chance of students to find a job within six months of graduating by 14%, and this increase is concentrated among college students.

Next steps for the study include exploration of different effects of the SPES program by gender, education, etc., and to link Public Employment Service Office (PESO) characteristics to the end line data that will be generated from the survey. Final results of the study will be presented during the PESO Conference in October 2017.

The Institute for Labor Studies (ILS) is the policy research and advocacy arm of the Department of Labor and Employment. For more information about ILS products and services, please visit: http://ils.dole.gov.ph or call Advocacy and Publications Division at tel.no. 527-3490.