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Zamboanga City – The Department of Social Welfare and Development Regional Office IX has accommodated 80 out-of-school, undergraduates, and graduates who are unemployed for the Government Internship Program (GIP).

These interns have been deployed in DSWD Regional Office, provincial offices and centers and institutions for 22 days which started last April 29, 2016. They will be paid Php210 pesos, which is 75% of the prevailing regional wage rate.

These GIP interns were selected based on the following criteria:

  • Applicants should be 18-24 years old;
  • College level or high school graduate;
  • Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) certificate holders;
  • For out-of-school youth, they should not have stopped school for more than two years;
  • Good health condition;
  • Monthly income of the family shall not be more than the existing poverty threshold; and
  • Youth who belongs to a household-beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.
Ma. Socorro Macaso, Regional Focal Person for youth sector, orients the 80 GIP interns before they are deployed in their assigned work places
Ma. Socorro Macaso, Regional Focal Person for youth sector, orients the 80 GIP interns before they are deployed in their assigned work places

According Regional Focal Person for youth sector, Maria Socorro Macaso, GIP does not merely provide the youth with financial aid for their enrollment in the next school year, but it is also a way of honing their skills and potentials and introducing the young people to public service.

“The GIP aims to empower and equip the youth by exposing them to various aspects of government operations and for them to acquire adequate knowledge and develop right attitude in preparation for their chosen future careers.” Macaso said in her statement.

The GIP is one of the services offered for young people under the Unlad Kabataan Program (UKP) of the DSWD. The UKP is geared towards the total development of disadvantaged youth in terms of spiritual, economic, physical, psychological, cultural and social development. The GIP is part of the government’s efforts to strengthen youth participation in nation-building by exposing them to government service and training them on life skills. It also serves as recruitment mechanism for potential public employees, and provides financial assistance for school enrollment.###