CNMI, Hawaii seal deal to strengthen workforce By MARIAN A. MARAYA

The Workforce Investment Agency has sealed anew a memorandum of understanding with the Pacific Educational Foundation Inc./MTC-Hawaii Job Corps Center for a partnership program eyed to nurture responsible, employable, and productive citizens.

WIA Executive Director Felix R. Nogis and Governor Pedro P. Tenorio have signed the agreement with Hawaii Job Corps officials in efforts to promote the HJCC mission which is to provide academic, vocational, and social development training to young men and women ages 16 to 24.

Mr. Nogis said collaborative efforts between the agencies would serve many advantages to local citizens especially as it targets participation of individuals from low-income families.

The Job Corps originally reserved for the CNMI three slots. Mr. Nogis, however, appealed to the Honolulu-based agency to make room for a maximum of 10 trainees.

WIA is currently arranging with Job Corps recruitment preparations where representatives from HJCC will come to Saipan to interview prospective applicants.

“Right now, we are still trying to work out a schedule for their visit,” said Mr. Nogis.
Mr. Nogis’ office has been tasked to facilitate the Job Corps’ local recruitment to ensure fair and equal participation from the community.

Some 10 eligible applicants to be confirmed by the private agency will undergo training in Hawaii for an average of two years, according to Mr. Nogis.

Vocational and educational training programs ranging from construction, mechanics, electronics, computer, culinary arts, and general education development will be offered to chosen applicants.

All training expenses will be shouldered by Job Corps including accommodations and subsistence allowance, according to Mr. Nogis.
“Essentially, this does not impose any added costs on WIA,” he added.

The executive director is also warning prospective applicants that the training program involves a fair amount of hard work.

“We don’t want applicants thinking that it’s going to be easy and that is a convenient chance to go off-island only to find out later that its quite difficult,” he said.
The training facility in Hawaii reportedly follows stringent codes on curfew and job performance assessments.

Prior to the recruitment period yet to be scheduled after October of this year, WIA will be conducting a CNMI-wide awareness campaign to ensure everyone’s equal chances of enrolling in the program.

The MOU between WIA (formerly Job Training Partnership Act) and Job Corps has been in place in the past two years. However, efforts at recruiting local citizens for the off-island training program has been pushed back because the Job Corps was unable to fly to Saipan to personally pick CNMI participants.

“But now, it’s just a matter of identifying a specific date on when they will conduct the recruitment,” said Mr. Nogis.