Department of Public Works trainees recently completed solid waste management training through the Northern Marianas Technical Institute.
NINETEEN employees from the Department of Public Works became the first group to complete solid waste management training with the Northern Marianas Technical Institute on May 1.
NMTech Marketing and Outreach Coordinator Ben Babauta said the trainees met three times a week beginning on January 21 and completed the course on April 30. They spent five weeks each in transfer station operations, landfill operations, and safety protocol lessons.
Of the 19, five are from Rota and five from Tinian.
Babauta said this was an “upskill” opportunity for the trainees.
DPW Secretary Ray Yumul said the trainees undertook spill management training and learned best practices for managing household waste, e-waste, and green waste. Their safety training was the “most important” aspect, Yumul said, adding that moving forward, other DPW employees will need to undergo the same training.
“I can confidently say when people come in wishing to work in solid waste management that they’re going to have to go through NMTech,” Yumul said. “They’re going to have to go through the same program [that these] guys went through. They’re not just going to come off HR, off the street, put on safety shoes and head to work.”
