Mark Rabauliman of the Department of Commerce said following the multi-media exposure they released announcing the Job Expo, they received numerous calls and inquiries from interested job applicants which they directed to sign up and register at the http://jobs.marianas.us website.
The registration period for employers was already closed as of yesterday. Rabauliman said 28 employers have signed up for the Job Expo.
“We would have welcomed more participants but we have time constraints and accommodated only those who signed up first,” he said.
He added that 27 of the employers who signed up were private businesses from different industries like hotels and restaurants, dive shops, services, construction and others. Only one employer is from the government sector — the Workforce Investment Agency which Rabauliman said just meets the purpose of the job expo.
The job expo will allow CNMI businesses currently announcing job vacancies to collect resumes, meet and interview candidates on the spot, and allow eligible applicants to interact with representatives from the different businesses.
Employers were asked to register for the Job Expo and advertise job vacancies earlier at the http://jobs.marianas.us, an independent website that runs the job advertisements for free.
Job candidates were also advised to sign up at the same website to get an idea of the job vacancies posted so they can do some research on the firms that they are interested in working for.
The job candidates are advised to prepare an adequate number of copies of their resumes tomorrow for prospective employers to review.
The Department of Commerce in an earlier release stated that participating employers will receive a certificate of participation from the Commerce department certifying that the employer participated in the job expo and made efforts to secure U.S. eligible workers (U.S. citizens, FAS citizens, and green card holders) for the positions within their organization.
Acting Commerce Secretary Sixto Igisomar said that the Job Expo couldn’t have been very timely and can help CNMI businesses locate U.S. Citizens and eligible CNMI residents to replace the foreign labor pool.
He said the Job Expo does not guarantee employment but it will serve as a link to connect employers and job candidates in one place, and give job seekers a chance to explore opportunities that are currently being announced.
Rabauliman said tomorrow, U.S. Interior Assistant Secretary Tony Babauta will also announce the sub-grant awards to the various government and non-profit agencies that competed for Commerce’s Economic and Labor Enhancement Program.{jcomments off}
