Educated Workers By: Anthony Pellegrino

The JTPA cries publicly that businesses are unwilling to hire resident workers preferring nonresident workers at a low wage. The Administration pleads with business to employ resident workers The Legislature keeps making hiring and keeping of nonresident workers increasingly complex and expensive so that businesses will hire resident workers. Basta! That’s enough. Let’s set the record start.

Almost every business in the CNMI will hire resident workers over nonresident workers and is willing to pay higher wages than $3.05 per hour. In fact, most businesses have hired resident employees only to be disappointed in a few weeks.

Please note that I am speaking in general terms. There are many resident workers who are fine, loyal, literate, and good employees. I am talking about the ones who are almost totally unqualified to work at anything except push a broom. They are the ones that make our unemployment percentage high. Why are they unemployable?

Basically, many of them cannot pass a fourth grade literacy test. I know because when they come to my company for a job interview, I administer a fourth grade literacy test. During the last four months, out of eight applicants, only two passed it and were immediately hired. I felt so sad for the six who did not pass because some of them had wives and children. It is grim to see so many unemployed young people roaming the streets who cannot perform simple reading, writing and math.

Most of the banks in town eagerly search for good local employees at an entry level of $7.50 per hour with increases in a few months. But the banks have to satisfy themselves with the few good resident employees available supplemented by IR’s. Hotels are anxious to employ resident workers and train them in the hospitality industry, but if the prospective employees cannot read, speak, write and do simple math, how can they be employed?

These facts about the low literacy of many of our potential employable resident workers are well documented. When are we going to do something about remedying the situation? It is a proven fact that a well educated employee can do the job of two less literate people. True, there are cases where a few employers deliberately want a nonresident employee, but that does not change the fact that resident workers could replace many nonresident workers if they were more literate.

Realizing that the issue is long and complicated, I want to suggest a possible solution. I recommend that the Governor set up a continuing special committee made up of a member of the Personnel Office, DOLI, JTPA, PSS, NMC, Chamber of Commerce, representatives of different industries, such as, automobile, construction, hospitality, banking, retail, Chairman of the Education, Welfare, and Health Committee from the Legislature, and any other interested persons.

This committee would focus on identifying the seriousness of the situation. Then it would make recommendations on improving the literacy problem for these unfortunate employees. The committee may even suggest setting up remedial courses for these employees and allow them to receive some unemployment compensation for say up to six months while they are in literacy training. There are many other ways.

I am pleading with the Administration to do something other than force illiterate employees on the private sector. Stop criticizing it for not wanting to employ illiterate employees. Business is not school. On-the-job training is not literacy training.

Backed by the leaders of the community and backed by a temporary government subsidy, the current unemployable people can become employable. An educated work force is our islands strongest asset!