NMTech’s Marketing and Outreach Coordinator Ben Babauta speaks at a meeting of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce at the Hyatt on Wednesday.
Ben Babauta — not in photo — shared enrollment data from NMTech during a meeting of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce at the Hyatt on Wednesday
BEN Babauta, the marketing and outreach coordinator for the Northern Marianas Trades Institute, updated members of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Feb. 7, regarding the latest developments at NMTech and the ways they can support its students.
Babauta pointed out that many of the items that residents use every day — vehicles, air-conditioners, among others — require maintenance or repair, and these tasks can be performed by NMTech graduates.
He said NMTech has numerous courses, including automotive technology, culinary arts, baking and pastry, cosmetology, carpentry, masonry, HVAC, welding, electronics system technology and construction.
NMTech also offers OSHA certification courses for employers, and Google-certified training programs in data analytics, project management and more, Babauta added.
In addition, he said NMTech offers drone pilot certification courses with its partner, Bella Wings Aviation as well as hotel and restaurant certifications in collaboration with Island Training Solutions.
Babauta said 2023 saw the creation of the cosmetology and baking and pastry courses.
Cosmetology students learn hands-on at Salt & Barber salon while baking and pastry students are interns at hotels on island, he added.
Babauta said NMTech helps grow the local workforce ahead of the expiration of the federal CW-1 program on Dec. 31, 2029.
“What we do at NMTech is not just produce students — we think about the future,” Babauta said. “We think about what the careers will be, and we think about what happens when the [CW-1] program ends in 2029. Those jobs will be filled by NMTech students.”
According to the office of U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, the cap on CW visas in 2023 was 11,000 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration issuing 5,789 CW visas for that year.
Babauta said as of spring 2024, the trade school has 158 enrolled students. The current semester has 50 more students than the previous semester, he added.
Construction Core, which is an introductory level construction class, has the most students with 23 enrollees, he said. Overall, there are 56 students enrolled in the various construction courses offered at NMTech, Babauta added.
He said because NMTech offers a dual enrollment course called Trading Up in partnership with the Public School System, 19 high school students at Da’ok Academy are also taking the Construction Core course.
Babauta said there are also five participants of the Department of Corrections outreach program who are Construction Core students, and 10 other inmates are enrolled in the Carpentry Level 1 course. These 10 inmates completed the Electrical Level 2 course in December, Babauta said.
He is inviting chamber members to partner with NMTech. He hopes NMTech students can intern at more businesses on Saipan, and that chamber members support NMTech as a “viable option” for education.
He said chamber members can likewise support their own employees through professional development via NMTech’s Google certificate programs or partner with the CNMI Department of Labor’s registered apprenticeship program.
Babauta said chamber members can also support NMTech through social media posts.
