The Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) is mandated under Republic Act No. 7323otherwise known as “An Act To Help Poor But Deserving Students Pursue Their Education By Encouraging Their Employment During Summer and/or Christmas Vacations, Through Incentives Granted to Employers, Allowing Them to Pay Only Sixty Per Centum of Their Salaries or Wages and The Forty Per Centum Through Education Vouchers To Be Paid By the Government, Prohibiting and Penalizing The Filing of Fraudulent and Fictitious Claims, and For Other Purposes”, Under this law, the Secretary of Labor and Employment is designated Program Director of the SPES.
The SPES is a component of the President’s Kabataan 2000 Program along with the Work Appreciation Program (WAP) of the Department of Labor and Employment.
