Summer employment

About 300 young people will be graduating at the end of this month or early June. While most would be searching for their first jobs in the real world of “life after campus”, opportunities in the job market seems limited: the private sector has downsized considerably in a deepening crisis that is far from bottoming out while the public sector reviews reduction in work hours for its 4,000 plus strong work force.

Even with the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA Office) scrambling to persuade the private sector to pick-up summer trainees with 100 percent payment in salaries by JTPA, the business sector doesn’t seem keen on rolling out the carpet this time around. Perhaps there are reasons for such apprehension or something or other. But if the cost of salaries is being defrayed 100 percent by JTPA, it would to their advantage to pick-up an extra hand at least for the summer.

For the Class of 1999, the road ahead may not be smooth sailing in terms of job opportunities “as we know it”. The closure of more than 2000 businesses so triggered by the Asian Crisis has translated into fewer jobs in the private sector for high school graduates. The same situation exist for employment opportunities in an already bloated government sector. Thus, it’ll be a challenge getting into the job market in either sector. And this issue alone is sufficient to sent politicians and bureaucrats into the quiet corners of their quarters to ponder how could this issue be untangled into opportunities. There isn’t much choice up this dead end road either.

As we ponder this mind numbing dilemma, all roads definitely lead to the NMI buckling down to learning the very essence of wealth creation beyond our combined ignorance and penchant for instant gratification over lasting ones. This doesn’t necessarily require a new set of leadership to carry the torch of wealth creation beyond conventional investments. It’s all a matter of reinventing our vision and commitment to be able to encourage growth and expansion of current investors as we repeal all protectionist measures now in our books. Lest this is done forthwith, much of our dreams and aspirations for a prosperous Northern Marianas would be wasted in the sea of joblessness and helplessness.

The NMI needs fresh ideas on wealth creation from willing policymakers who understand with full measure that government is never in the business of profit making. Paradigms in the way we handle wealth creation has changed substantially and we must all bid adios to complacency in a region where stiff competition in every sector boils down to the level of survival of the fittest. Again, we wish to encourage the business sector to grant our youths the opportunity for employment this summer. Si Yuus Maase`!