If you are out of school, the useful question is not "what help exists" but "which office do I walk into on Monday, and what does it cost." The answer to the second part, for every programme below, is nothing.
There is no single out-of-school youth programme. There are three separate systems, run by three agencies, and most people use them in sequence: DepEd for the education credential, TESDA for a skills certificate, DOLE for paid work experience. Local governments sit on top of all three with their own money.
First, the definitions that decide what you qualify for
Two DepEd issuances define the terms that appear on the forms:
- DepEd Order No. 017, s. 2025 defines out-of-school children, youth and adults (OSCYA) as persons who are not attending school, have not finished any college or post-secondary course, and are not working.
- DepEd Order No. 001, s. 2026 defines out-of-school children in special cases as children of the official school age who are not enrolled in elementary or secondary schools because of economic, geographic, political, cultural or social barriers, including learners with disabilities, indigenous peoples, children in conflict with the law, and learners in emergency situations.
The distinction matters. If you are still of school age, DepEd's rule is that ALS implementers should refer you to the formal school system first, in line with the objectives of Republic Act No. 11510.
1. ALS, for the education credential
What it is. The Alternative Learning System, DepEd's parallel learning system for out-of-school children in special cases, youth and adults. Governed by Republic Act No. 11510, the Alternative Learning System Act, and implemented under DepEd Order No. 001, s. 2026, the Implementing Guidelines of the Enhanced Alternative Learning System.
Is it running. Yes, and it is currently being changed. DepEd Order No. 001, s. 2026 directs all Schools Division Offices to implement the Revised ALS Curriculum for the Basic Literacy Program, A&E Elementary and A&E Junior High School beginning SY 2026-2027, and says schools already running ALS Senior High School continue on the existing ALS SHS curriculum until a strengthened version is issued.
What it costs. Nothing, and this is a legal prohibition rather than a courtesy. Section 20 of RA 11510 provides that all DepEd ALS programmes are free of charge and that collection of all kinds of fees, costs or charges shall not be allowed. DepEd Order No. 001, s. 2026 repeats it. DepEd's A&E test guidelines state that no payment shall be collected for the test registration, the test administration, or the issuance of the Certificate of Rating.
Say that plainly: nobody is authorised to charge you for ALS enrolment, for A&E test registration, or for an ALS certificate. Anyone doing so, online or in person, is not running the programme. Report it to the Schools Division Office.
Where to go. Your Schools Division Office, or the ALS focal person your barangay can identify. Our ALS enrolment guide covers what happens after that.
Be realistic about the gap. EDCOM 2, the Second Congressional Commission on Education, reported 302,807 ALS completers out of 655,517 enrolees in School Year 2023-2024, described the enrolment-to-completion gap as alarming, and noted that the programme reaches only a small share of the estimated out-of-school youth population. It also flagged flat regional budgeting and the absence of specialised professional development for ALS teachers. Free and available is not the same as easy to finish.
2. TESDA, for the skills certificate
TESDA is often the faster route to income, and in many qualifications it does not require a completed high school diploma.
Entry requirements are set per course, in the training regulations for that qualification, not by one national rule. The Training Regulations for Contact Center Services NC II, for example, require trainees to have completed at least 10 years of basic education or to hold an ALS certificate of achievement with Grade 10 equivalent. The same document notes training centres may add their own institutional requirements. So check the training regulation for the specific course before assuming you are excluded.
Scholarships. TESDA's own scholarships page lists the Private Education Student Financial Assistance programme under Republic Act No. 8545, the Training for Work Scholarship Program, the Special Training for Employment Program, the Tulong Trabaho Scholarship Program, the Rice Extension Services Program, the Barangay Kabuhayan Skills Training Program, the Coconut Farmers Scholarships Program, and free tuition in state universities and technical vocational institutions under Republic Act No. 10931. STEP is described as community-based, with beneficiaries receiving free training and competency assessment, starter toolkits and a training allowance.
Slots move by region and by cycle. Confirm at a TESDA provincial or district office rather than from social media. Our TESDA scholarship guide explains how the main ones differ.
Free online. The TESDA Online Program at e-tesda.gov.ph is free. TESDA's own description states the programme aims to make technical education more accessible through the internet and that you do not have to pay tuition to access the courses, and names out-of-school youth among its intended users. Finishing an online course does not by itself produce a National Certificate; you take a face-to-face assessment at a TESDA accredited assessment centre for that. See our TESDA Online Program guide.
3. DOLE, for paid experience
Three separate programmes, three different profiles.
SPES
The Special Program for Employment of Students, under Republic Act No. 10917, which amends Republic Act No. 9547 and, through it, Republic Act No. 7323.
- Covers poor but deserving students and out-of-school youth, at least 15 and not more than 30 years old. The law provides that out-of-school youth may be employed at any time throughout the year.
- Wage sharing: the employer pays 60 percent of the salary or wage in cash, the government provides 40 percent.
- The statute sets employment at 20 to 78 working days, with a shorter 10 to 15 day period during the Christmas vacation. Some local government pages still quote an older maximum, so take the current range from your DOLE field office or Public Employment Service Office.
JobStart Philippines
Institutionalised under Republic Act No. 10869. Its official portal states trainees must be Filipino citizens, 18 to 24 years old at registration, with at least high school level education, not in education, employment or training at the time of registration, and no more than one year of accumulated work experience. The programme runs career coaching and labour market information sessions, a 10-day core skills training, referrals to employers, and up to three months of technical training plus an internship.
Government Internship Program
DOLE's GIP is the one that names ALS explicitly. Under Department Order No. 204-B, s. 2026, eligible applicants are aged 18 to 30 and must be high school or senior high school graduates, Alternative Learning System completers, or holders of national skills certificates, with no prior work experience as an employee in a government agency. Placements run three to six months for applicants at high school level or with up to 60 college units, and interns receive a stipend equivalent to the highest prevailing minimum wage in the region.
Apply through DOLE regional or field offices, or the GIP portal your region operates.
4. Local government schemes
Cities, municipalities, provinces and barangays fund their own scholarships and training, usually through an ordinance and administered by a scholarship office, the local social welfare office, or the Public Employment Service Office. There is no national list, the rules differ everywhere, and residency in the LGU is almost always required.
Two rules for dealing with them. Ask for the ordinance or programme guidelines in writing, and be suspicious of any "processing fee." Our LGU scholarship guide explains how these are usually structured and what to ask for.
Putting them in order
| If your situation is | Start with | Then |
|---|---|---|
| No elementary or high school credential | ALS, at your Schools Division Office | A&E test, then Grade 11 or ALS SHS |
| Have Grade 10 or A&E JHS, need income now | TESDA course with a scholarship | Assessment for a National Certificate |
| Have a credential, no work history, 18 to 30 | DOLE Government Internship Program | Job search with the internship on your record |
| Studying and broke, 15 to 30 | SPES through your PESO | Continue schooling with the earnings |
| 18 to 24, out of school and out of work | JobStart | Internship placement |
If your school records are lost rather than absent, the placement test route may be shorter than starting over; see the PEPT guide. And if you need work before a credential, jobs without a degree covers what is realistically open.
Checking that a programme is real
Three checks that take five minutes and prevent most problems:
- Name the issuance. A real programme has a law, a department order, or a memorandum behind it. ALS has RA 11510 and DepEd Order No. 001, s. 2026. SPES has RA 10917. GIP has Department Order No. 204-B, s. 2026. If nobody can name one, be careful.
- Confirm at the agency office, not through a Facebook page or a middleman. Schools Division Office for ALS, TESDA provincial office for training, DOLE field office or PESO for SPES, JobStart and GIP.
- Refuse to pay. Entry into every programme listed here is free. A request for money to enrol, to register, to "reserve a slot," or to release a certificate is the clearest signal you are not dealing with the real thing.
Sources
- Republic Act No. 11510, Alternative Learning System Act, LawPhil Project: https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2020/ra_11510_2020.html
- DepEd Order No. 001, s. 2026, Implementing Guidelines of the Enhanced Alternative Learning System (PDF), Department of Education: https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/DO_s2026_001r-1.pdf
- DepEd Order No. 017, s. 2025, Revised Basic Education Enrollment Policy (PDF), Department of Education: https://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/DO_s2025_017r.pdf
- 2025 Accreditation and Equivalency Test Registration and Administration Guidelines (DepEd Memorandum, PDF as disseminated by SDO Bohol/Tagbilaran City): https://depedtagbilaran.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DM-NO.-795-s.-2025-ACCREDITATION-AND-EQUIVALENCY-TEST-REGISTRATION-AND-ADMINISTRATION-GUIDELINES.pdf
- Scholarship and Student Assistance Programs, TESDA: https://www.tesda.gov.ph/about/tesda/1279
- Training Regulations, Contact Center Services NC II (PDF), TESDA: https://www.tesda.gov.ph/Downloadables/TR%20Contact%20Center%20Services%20NC%20II.pdf
- TESDA Online Program, TESDA Provincial Office Quirino: https://sites.google.com/tesda.gov.ph/tesdaquirino/programs-and-services/tesda-online-program
- TESDA Online Program portal: https://e-tesda.gov.ph/
- Republic Act No. 10917, amending the Special Program for Employment of Students law, LawPhil Project: https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2016/ra_10917_2016.html
- JobStart Philippines Program, Youth Employment Exchange, Department of Labor and Employment: https://jobstart.philjobnet.gov.ph/
- Government Internship Program overview, DOLE Regional Office XI GIP portal: https://gip.dole11portal.org/about-gip
- Department Order No. 204-B, s. 2026 on the Government Internship Program, as reported by Human Resources Online: https://www.humanresourcesonline.net/dole-philippines-tightens-internship-rules-to-boost-youth-employability
- "More than 3 years in, Alternative Learning System faces financing, completion woes," EDCOM 2: https://edcom2.gov.ph/more-than-3-years-in-alternative-learning-system-faces-financing-completion-woes/
