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NMTI Gala well received by community
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- McDonald’s Saipan’s Jose Ayuyu Sr. with wife Marcia and family with Ivan Blanco during the inaugural NMTI Gala at Hyatt Regency Saipan last Sept. 23. (Erwin Encinares)
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- Rep. Edwin K. Propst (Ind-Saipan) with wife Daisy pose for a picture at the inaugural NMTI Gala. (Erwin Encinares)
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- A full house of guests by the poolside at Hyatt Regency Saipan attending the inaugural NMTI Gala. (Erwin Encinares)
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- Perry Babauta Borja, who was awarded with the Anthony Pellegrino award in recognition of student accomplishments, poses for a picture with his father, NMTI CEO Agnes McPhetres, and Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board treasurer Joe Torres. (Erwin Encinares)
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- Commonwealth Casino Commission chair Juan Sablan with NMTI CEO Agnes McPhetres and CUC board treasurer Joe Torres pose for a photo. (Erwin Encinares)
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- Attendeees of the inaugural NMTI Gala dance the night away after drinks and the buffet. (Erwin Encinares)
The Northern Marianas Trades Institution’s inaugural gala held last Friday at the Hyatt Regency Saipan was well received by the community.
The goal of the NMTI Gala was not only to raise funds for the school, but also to inform the community that the trades and technical school is a good place to jumpstart their careers.
“[NMTI wants] the young people to see that vocational/technical school is not for dummies. It’s a program that will help us to build the economy of the CNMI,” said NMTI CEO Agnes McPhetres.
The NMTI raised funds for the financing of various programs that train individuals in certain skills, skills that are usually outsourced by businesses.
“Without the collaboration of the community and the business community, the program is not going to work. Major programs such as construction trades, different types of branches such as carpentry, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, welding, all of those things,” said McPhetres. “We also have the hotel and restaurant operations,” she added. “Our students, when they graduate, hopefully they can build a house, or they can be a fine carpenter, or they can service air-cons (air-conditioning units).”
McPhetres shared that what makes NMTI unique is that after the training, students are required to intern in a business establishment that is in the same industry.
“One of the unique parts of our program is that not only do we do it inside the classroom; after they complete instruction they go out for 240 hours as an intern in the different business, hotels, and eatery places.”
NMTI Continuing Education & Workforce Development director Ross Manglona shares that the NMTI Gala 2017 would be held at a different time next year.
“Next year we would be holding the gala earlier in April because it is too close to the Green Gala, the Red Cross, so we want to give our stakeholders the opportunity to breathe a bit,” he said.
Manglona claims that NMTI, with the constant support of the community, would be adding new courses depending on the demand of the CNMI. “We celebrate the growth of the institute, and we celebrate the fact that a lot of people have helped us along the way, and the fact that they continue to patronize our institute and help us grow further,” said Manglona. “Also to offer more courses, one of the courses that we are looking into is bookkeeping. Right now we’re seeing from our stakeholders that there is not a real need for accountants, but a major need for bookkeepers to maintain these small business. And that is something that the NMTI is looking at,” he added.
The NMTI Gala raised approximately $20,000 minus expenses. Funds would be used for expansion, financing, and growth of the NMTI.
