CUC board pushes for apprenticeship training

The Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board has directed CUC management to develop a U.S. Department of Labor-certified apprenticeship program in coordination with institutions on Saipan and in Guam.

After discussions last week, board director Diego Songao moved that CUC administration coordinate an apprenticeship program with not only the Northern Marianas Technical Institute but other institutions, and to ensure that the curriculum established will be approved by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Songao initiated the discussion when he asked CUC executive director Alan Fletcher about the “estimated costs” for contract worker apprentices, pointing to the CW period that expires in 2019.

Fletcher said they try to work closely with NMTI to develop these workers “within their limits.” He said the institute doesn’t have all the funding they need for a full apprenticeship program.

He said the apprenticeship programs at the Northern Marianas College were fleeting, noting the college has tried for years to get one going. “It has not been successful,” he said

‘The whole infrastructure in the CNMI is not really there for this workforce… We are trying to do it in-house, as much possible, within our budgets. We do have some budgets that would like to expand. We are getting pricing from technicians…as well as continuing to work with NMC and NMTI as they develop their funding sources,” he said.

“It is not where it should be by any means,” he added.

Board director David Sablan Jr. suggested asking the Guam Power Authority to share their apprenticeship curriculum with NMC and have the college develop it. He noted that in this program the contract worker employee would act as a mentor.

The type of apprenticeship was not specified in the motion. But discussion indicated this might focus on “the technical field of power generation.”