The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Saturday announced the expansion of the coverage of the Government Internship Program (GIP) to encourage qualified individuals to pursue a career in government service.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III signed Department Order No 204-A series of 2019 which allowed applicants aged 31 years old and above to also apply for the program.
Previously, the DOLE-GIP is open only to beneficiaries aged 18 to 30 years old.
To qualify, applicants must have no work experience or with intermittent work experience; laid-off or terminated due to closure of establishments; or displaced due to natural or manmade disasters.
The program may also be extended to victims of armed conflict, rebel returnees, persons with disability, and indigenous peoples.
The GIP beneficiaries are tasked to assist the DOLE and its partner agencies in duties that are not highly technical, such as encoding of registrants in the Public Employment Service Offices (PESO) Employment Information System; and profiling of child laborers, PWDs, and senior citizens in concerned barangays.
Among DOLE’s partner agencies in the program are the executive, legislative, and judicial bodies at the regional and national levels, PESOs, public hospitals, and public schools or educational institutions, government financial institutions, government-owned and controlled corporations, and local government units.
The internship period shall be for a minimum of three months to a maximum of six months and the salary is equivalent to the existing minimum wage of the region where the beneficiary will be employed.
The successful applicants shall also be entitled to insurance coverage, which shall not be deducted from the beneficiary’s allowance, based on the premium agreed by DOLE and the Government Service Insurance System.
Beneficiaries may also be re-admitted upon recommendation of the partner agencies.
The DOLE added the new qualifications add up to the established requirements for GIPs who must have no work experience and at least graduates of high school/senior high school or its equivalent level under the Alternative Learning System or graduates of a technical-vocational course. (Ferdinand Patinio/PNA)
