This was revealed by Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta M. Kaipat during a meeting with House members on Tuesday.
She said the “job forecast” will assure graduating students and jobless U.S. citizens of private sector employment.
But most importantly, she said the goal is to “alert” Labor’s partners — the Public School System, Northern Marianas College, the Workforce Investment Agency and the Northern Marianas Trades Institute — of the job vacancies their students may fill.
Kaipat said the 12-month job forecast will allow locals to pursue career courses and vocational training.
But she said locals who want to learn skills particularly from NMTI are facing some challenges.
Some of them, especially those living in Kagman, could hardly attend classes in NMTI which is located in Lower Base, due to “transportation problems.”
WIA Director Edith Deleon Guerrero, for her part, said thousands of federal dollars have been invested to train locals for jobs that are mostly held by nonresidents.
“It is very frustrating that we keep talking about these issues when we already know exactly what the problem is,” she told lawmakers.
The Saipan Higher Education Financial Assistance program can also help young locals obtain skills from NMTI.
But SHEFA acting board chairwoman Maggie Camacho said instead of awarding high school students scholarships to attend classes at NMTI, they might as well give the technical school funding.
She explained that because of some academic requirements, it would be easier for applicants to go directly to NMTI without applying for SHEFA scholarships.
Kaipat, Delon Guerrero and Camacho were among those the lawmakers invited to the “Career Vocational Manpower” meeting that Vice Speaker Felicidad T. Ogumoro, Covenant-Saipan, said will help create more private sector opportunities for locals.
