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JTPA reports decline in summer job applicants
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Posted on May 09 2000
The Job Training Partnership Act is luring more high school students to take advantage of the upcoming Summer Youth Employment and Training Program which has surprisingly been getting few applicants this year.
JTPA Executive Director Felix Nogis yesterday said only close to 35 students so far have expressed interest to participate in this year’s training program.
This rate is relatively low compared to previous years when the number of applicants usually exceeded the number of slots available.
Mr. Nogis cited ongoing class sessions as an obvious reason to the low application turn-ins.
“It’s quite an inconvenience to have parents go back at 3:30 and pick them up and bring them up here to obtain an application,” said Mr. Nogis.
Although JTPA has taken steps to make application forms available to high school students, the submission of forms which should be turned in only at the JTPA office on Capitol Hill remains to be another problem yet.
“We have to make sure that students have their parents’ consent so that we end up being liable,” Mr. Nogis said.
Last year, the program drew a total of 299 students for Saipan alone, with over a hundred participants from both Rota and Tinian.
The summer youth program benefits students in gaining job skills and instills responsibility in the youths, according to the executive director.
On top of that, students earn for themselves during the summer and thus easing financial burden on their parents for a while, he added.
“This also keeps them out of trouble for the summer. They do something meaningful,” Mr. Nogis said.
Private businesses also benefit with the opportunity of working with the young indigenous workforce and the prospect of finding permanent employees.
For high school seniors, JTPA is hoping to strike a deal with private companies to consider taking in the trainees on an extended term with the prospect of a fifty-fifty wage plan.
Over 129 private businesses and 179 government agencies participated in last year’s youth program.
