Previous Story
ESGR to host job fair for service members
The Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve Guam-CNMI Committee will be hosting a job fair for service members in the Commonwealth who are looking for “meaningful” employment.
The event is slated for July 19, 10am to 2pm at the Saipan World Resort.
This will be the first job fair to be held in conjunction with the ESGR’s Employment Initiative Program or EIP, said David J. Sablan, state chair for the Guam-CNMI Committee.
Launched last year, EIP aims to connect employers with service members and their spouses to facilitate employment opportunities.
“The job fair is where we see the actual connection,” said Sablan.
Sablan, along with committee staff and ESGR volunteers on island, conducted last June 27 the Employment Assistance Workshop and the Employer Initiative Symposium to mark ESGR’s 40th anniversary.
Sablan disclosed that of the 130 Guard and Reserve components in the CNMI, about 25 to 30 are unemployed. These unemployed service members are mostly young soldiers who joined the military for two years immediately after high school.
“They never did anything other than work in the military,” explained Sablan. “Those types of individuals are definitely unemployed and because we have such a young contingent here in the CNMI, I believe we have many of those in that category.so we’re trying to help them.”
Given that the CNMI has a military contingent that is “quite small,” Sablan is anticipating about 15 to 18 employers to participate in the job fair.
In the neighboring island of Guam where the unemployment rate is at 12 percent and is higher than the national average, ESGR has had two job fairs to help unemployed service members, according to Sablan.
Sablan expressed hope that employers in the region can appreciate these service members “for protecting our freedom and way of life, even to the point of making the ultimate sacrifice for us.”
“We hope that employers around our region have a strong appreciation and are grateful for that protection and therefore reciprocate by taking care of them by offering them jobs. .In that way, they can become productive citizens of the community and take good care of their families. I think as employers, we have that obligation,” he added.
By Clarissa V. David
Reporter
