NMC and HEW met to define goals
It was a congenial meeting where officials of the Northern Marianas College and the Committee on Health, Education and Welfare decided to come together to define the employment future of youths in the NMI.
This is a joint effort to ease the NMI’s dependence on recruiting labor from outside in the absence of local manpower who are trained to perform specific or general skills.
With the implementation of NMC’s reorganization plan this month, Representative Heinz Hofschneider believes that its leadership is moving towards the right direction.
“It seems like the Board of Regents has moved into the direction progressively,” he said, adding, “…we are committed ourselves to work with the college and the board, in particular, to come up with solutions rather than continue debating issues in the newspaper.”
Their second meeting held Monday emphasized the need of a post secondary mission other than what has been provided for in the Constitution which is expected to work in the best interest of the community.
Practical objectives will support the mission. He urged NMC officials to be put them in writing for the public to comment and later for strict observance once they are implemented.
“This is critical because future policy-makers will have to abide by those objectives while ensuring that the college adheres to those objectives,” he added.
According to the HEW Chairman, as the only post secondary institution in the NMI, NMC takes the task to produce graduates who can work in both private and public sectors.
Over the years, the success of NMC is often measured with the size of the local group who are competitive in the job market, he said.
When the government speaks about controlling the number of guest workers, tax payers also demand the supply of human resources from the college.
It is a good omen as both sides work on renewed spirit to attend to the real education and training needs of students who matriculate at NMC.
