TL;DR: Work immersion hours depend entirely on which curriculum a learner is on, and the difference is large. Under DepEd Order No. 30, s. 2017 the minimum was 80 hours, and DepEd Order No. 39, s. 2018 let schools design models between 80 and 320 hours, made it a graduation requirement for TVL only, and gave other tracks alternative culminating activities. Under DepEd Order No. 017, s. 2026, which amends DO 30, work immersion runs 320 to 640 hours in Grade 12, is mandatory for all Technical-Professional learners and optional for Academic Track learners. Placement must be covered by a Memorandum of Agreement with a partner institution, capped at 40 hours a week and eight hours a day. Public schools may not charge a work immersion fee.
Work immersion generates more confused advice than any other Senior High requirement, because three orders and a memorandum all say different numbers and all are quoted online without dates. This guide sorts them by which learner they apply to.
What Work Immersion Is
DepEd Order No. 30, s. 2017 defines it as "the subject of the Senior High School Curriculum, which involves hands-on experience or work simulation in which learners can apply their competencies and acquired knowledge relevant to their track."
The rationale section of the same order gives three purposes: to become familiar with the workplace, for employment simulation, and to apply competencies in areas of specialisation or applied subjects in authentic work environments. It states that work immersion "is thus a requirement for graduation from secondary education", a line that DO 39, s. 2018 later qualified track by track.
For what a learner actually submits at the end of it, see our guide to work immersion outputs and reports.
The Hours, by Curriculum
| Issuance | Hours | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| DO 30, s. 2017 | Model A at 80 hours as the minimum requirement, with Model B at 240 hours (80 + 160) and further models above that | All SHS from SY 2017-2018 |
| DO 39, s. 2018 | Minimum 80, maximum 320 hours for schools designing their own delivery model | All SHS, clarifying DO 30 |
| DM 052, s. 2025 | Enhanced programme in named pilot schools only | Pilot schools in nine regions, SY 2025-2026 and SY 2026-2027 |
| DO 017, s. 2026 | 320 hours in a one-term model, 640 hours in a two-term model, in Grade 12 | Grade 11 from SY 2026-2027, Grade 12 from SY 2027-2028 |
DO 30 laid out lettered delivery models so schools could match hours to their partnership capacity. Model A, at 80 hours, is described in the order as the minimum requirement, suitable where partners could only accommodate that much. Model B combined 80 hours with an additional 160 for learners who wanted more time in their specialisation. Later models scaled further for learners taking 320-hour or 640-hour specialisations.
The 2026 figure is not a tweak of that structure. It is roughly a fourfold increase on the old floor, and it moves the whole requirement into Grade 12.
Who Has To Do It
Under DO 39, s. 2018, work immersion was a requirement for Technical-Vocational-Livelihood learners, who "shall have completed the required learning competencies of a particular specialization before Work Immersion." Learners in other tracks could take an alternative culminating experience instead, each with its own enclosed curriculum guide: Business Enterprise Simulation for ABM, a culminating activity for HUMSS, a research or capstone project for STEM and for GAS, off-campus apprenticeship for Sports, and a performing arts production or exhibit for Arts and Design. The order specifies that learners "shall start taking the chosen option in Grade 12." Those alternatives are visible in the strand tables of DepEd Order No. 21, s. 2019, where the final entry for each strand reads "Work Immersion / Research / Career Advocacy / Culminating Activity". Our specialised subjects by strand guide sets those out.
DO 017, s. 2026 keeps the same logic under new track names. It states that because work immersion gives learners hands-on workplace experience, it "is mandatory for all Tech-Pro learners to ensure alignment with industry demands", and that "for Academic Track learners, Work Immersion remains optional."
For Academic Track learners who do want it, the order provides a route. Work Immersion for Academic Track appears in Annex A as a 320-hour Grade 12 elective inside the Field Experience cluster, with prerequisites: a learner must first have completed the relevant elective sequence in Business and Entrepreneurship, in Sports, Health and Wellness, in STEM, or six electives from the Social Sciences and Humanities list. Field Experience electives as a whole are optional for Academic Track learners.
Placement and Venue Rules
The mechanics come from DO 30, s. 2017 and have not been superseded.
A partner institution is a public or private organisation willing to lend expertise and resources, formalised through a Memorandum of Agreement that may be signed at central, regional, division or school level. The school designates a School Partnership Focal Person to seek those partnerships, under DepEd Order No. 40, s. 2015.
The workplace immersion venue must conform to rules on safety, appropriateness for learning, and availability of facilities and equipment issued by DepEd, TESDA, DOLE, CHED and other relevant agencies. The order gives offices, factories, shops and project sites as examples.
Supervision is two-sided. A Work Immersion Teacher from the school supervises learners at the venue, working with a Work Immersion Partner Institution Supervisor who must be identified by name in the Memorandum of Agreement. That named-person requirement is a useful thing for parents to ask about: if no supervisor is named, the placement is not set up the way the order requires.
On time, DO 30 states that "the maximum number of hours spent in the work immersion venue is 40 hours per week and no more than eight (8) hours per day as provided for by law, for a child below 18 but older than 15." DO 39 adds that "learners shall perform their Work Immersion activities during daytime only (6:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.), with eight or less hours per day," and that when classes are suspended the immersion session is suspended too and must be made up on a rescheduled date.
Fees
Public schools may not collect a work immersion fee. Under DO 39, s. 2018, work immersion expenses in public schools may be charged against Adopt-a-School and MOOE funds, and parents may contribute voluntarily through the PTA, but that contribution is arranged independently of the school. Private schools may charge only after General PTA approval and consultation.
This is the single most useful line in the 2018 order for families, and it is routinely ignored. If a public school presents a compulsory immersion fee, the schools division office is the place to raise it.
Why the Hours Jumped
DepEd published its reasoning in DepEd Memorandum No. 052, s. 2025, the memorandum covering the DepEd-PCORP pilot. It cites Philippine Institute for Development Studies research from 2021 and 2023, issued as policy notes for the Second Congressional Commission on Education, reporting that most firms perceive Senior High graduates as not work-ready despite the prevailing requirement to complete at least 80 hours, that firms consider that duration insufficient, and that the studies recommend longer and competency-oriented immersion. It also cites industry submissions from the semiconductor and electronics sector and from Philippine Business for Education to the same effect.
The pilot itself was narrow. It ran under a Memorandum of Agreement with the Private Sector Jobs and Skills Corporation, a non-profit set up by the President's Private Sector Advisory Council Jobs Cluster, in selected schools across nine regions for SY 2025-2026 and SY 2026-2027. The memorandum states explicitly that schools not in the pilot "should continue to adhere to DepEd Order No. (DO) 30, s. 2017 and DO 39, s. 2018."
What Is Still Unsettled
DO 017, s. 2026 sets the hours, the grade level and the mandatory-optional split, then defers the rest: "Further details and updated implementation guidelines on Work Immersion shall be provided in a separate issuance." A second sentence promises a separate policy covering Work Immersion, Field Exposure and Arts Apprenticeship together.
So as things stand, a school implementing 320 to 640 hours in Grade 12 is working from a new order for the headline numbers and from the 2017 order for partnership mechanics, venue standards, supervision and fees. That is a real gap, and it is fair to ask a school how it intends to secure enough partner institutions for a requirement four to eight times longer than the old one.
The restructure as a whole, including the two-track and elective-cluster model that Tech-Pro and Academic sit inside, is covered in our Strengthened SHS curriculum explainer. The track that carries the mandatory requirement is covered in our TVL strand guide, and the subject category work immersion used to sit beside is in our applied subjects guide.
Choosing a senior high school? Browse schools and compare tracks, tuition and reviews across the Philippines on SchoolFinderPH.
Sources
- DepEd — DO 30, s. 2017, Guidelines for Work Immersion (official PDF)
- DepEd — DO 39, s. 2018, Clarification and Additional Information to DepEd Order No. 30, s. 2017 (Guidelines on Work Immersion)
- DepEd — DM 052, s. 2025, Guidelines for the DepEd-PCORP Pilot Implementation of the Enhanced Senior High School Work Immersion Program in Selected Schools (official PDF)
- DepEd — DO 017, s. 2026, Strengthened Senior High School Curriculum
- DepEd — DO 21, s. 2019, Policy Guidelines on the K to 12 Basic Education Program (official PDF)
- SchoolFinderPH — Work Immersion Research: What SHS Students Actually Submit
- SchoolFinderPH — Strengthened SHS Curriculum: What Changed
