40 companies take part in PSS coop fair

The Public School System Cooperation Training and Job Fair was held yesterday afternoon at the Hibiscus hall of the Fiesta Resort and Spa Saipan, bringing together public high school students and 40 private and public companies.

A Hyatt Regency Saipan representative interviews prospective employees during the Public School System Cooperation Training and Job Fair yesterday afternoon at the Hibiscus hall of the Fiesta Resort and Spa Saipan. (Dennis B. Chan)

The PSS cooperative education program provides classroom instruction and on-the-job training. It covers résumé drafting, financial literacy, money management, and career management, among other things.

Yesterday’s fair opened up the job-site training aspect of the program. But the program doesn’t just place students in jobs. They “have to [be] interview[ed] and compete for these jobs,” PSS co-op coordinator Christopher Tenorio said.

The 40 companies included Herman’s Bakery, Coral Ocean Point Golf Resort, the Division of Fish and Wildlife, T Galleria, and Joeten Enterprises, among others.

“[The variety of companies] is really to give students an exposure to the different career options that are available here in the CNMI,” Tenorio said.

He said the program builds the foundation of work ethic in students. “It’s about developing a work ethic and developing these life skills so when they venture out of high school into the real world, they have that skill set to advance their lives.”

Tenorio invites more island companies to join the program. Interested companies can contact him at 237-3025, if they want to learn more. “I am more than happy to sit down and talk about the program and how we can benefit from this partnership,” he said.

“So far it’s going better than I thought,” said Marianas High School student Ricksy Cano of the fair. “Coming here I was extremely nervous, but a lot of the people are nicer than what we were taught. So it’s a fun experience so far.”

“Co-op has helped me to become more confident, it has helped me to speak to others, to be more social, because that’s what you need to score a job as well,” he said.

“Always smile,” he added.

Anais Angeles and Marica Evangelista, MHS junior and senior students respectively, said the program prepared them for the questions asked that day.

“We practiced a lot in class so when we got to the career fair, it felt like it was easy, it was okay,” Angeles said.

She said the hardest part was approaching people. “They are strangers and you go up to them.”

“It takes a lot of courage,” added Evangelista. “You’re not in the classroom anymore, you’re not with your classmates anymore, you are actually facing the manager for that company so it was really challenging.”