Jess Mac of Dandan village woke up early on Wednesday, determined to find a job that would help him provide for his family, particularly his ailing mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want a decent job,\u201d said Mac. \u201cMaybe I can have a new kind of job, different from my previous job,\u201d said the 33-year-old jobseeker, who has had prior work experience driving heavy equipment.<\/p>\n
A former greens keeper in Guam, Mac was among the hundreds of jobless U.S. workers who attended the job fair hosted by the CNMI Department of Labor. A total of 27 employers\u2014both private businesses and government agencies\u2014accepted applications for jobs ranging from technicians and housekeepers to engineers and managers at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe yesterday.<\/p>\n
Mac, who moved back to Saipan after being jobless in Guam for two years, is optimistic that the fair will pave the way for his next job. \u201cThis event is a good opportunity for job applicants like me,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Like Mac, other hopefuls lined up as early as 8am to complete application forms or submit their r\u00e9sum\u00e9s to prospective employers.<\/p>\n
Ruth Shorey Tenorio, 20, arrived from Pohnpei in 2010 with a goal to finish school. Unable to meet that goal, Tenorio is now looking for a job as a cashier or housekeeper in stores and hotels.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to work because I\u2019m staying with my husband and we want to have enough to support ourselves and our families,\u201d said Tenorio, who worked as a cashier and a babysitter back in Pohnpei.<\/p>\n
Her husband, Melchor Tenorio, said it\u2019s been a month since he last had a job. He used to work with Herman\u2019s Bakery.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am looking to apply for a job as a warehouse stocker,\u201d said Tenorio, 21, who submitted application forms to Fiesta Resort and Spa, Joeten, and KFC, among others.<\/p>\n
While yesterday\u2019s crowd saw job seekers of different ages, a large number were young U.S. workers keen to obtain work experience at an early age as they, too, have been badly affected by the continuing economic decline.<\/p>\n
Kimberly Magofna, 18, just graduated from Kagman High School and is awaiting phone calls and interview appointments. In the meantime, she keeps submitting application forms.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt [doesn\u2019t] matter what kind of job. I just want to gain more work experience,\u201d said the Tanapag resident who was once employed at the Chacha Ocean View Jr. High School doing administrative work.<\/p>\n
Eighteen-year-old Jamilice Camacho said she is prepared to juggle her time as a freshman student taking up Elementary Education at the Northern Marianas College while taking a part-time job.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been looking for a part-time job for four months now and it\u2019s been difficult because there\u2019s a lot of people like me that are looking for jobs,\u201d said Camacho, who came to the venue with her mom and a friend.<\/p>\n
Camacho, a Chalan Kanoa resident, said she is \u201cpretty positive\u201d that she will be hired. \u201cIt\u2019s better to be confident and just be hopeful,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
CNMI Center for Living Independently director Lydia D. Igitol, who came to the job fair to assist two of their consumers find a job, said the event is an \u201copportunity the island never had,\u201d particularly for the youth.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing the youth here gives me great hope that people would recognize that there is a need for employment among U.S. workers. Here you can see the actual demand,\u201d she told Saipan Tribune.<\/p>\n
Igitol added that having even just some of people with disabilities hired through these job fairs would give hope to others. \u201cThey just need encouragement,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Fiesta Resort and Spa Human Resource manager Lupe Flores said the job fair is a \u201cgood venue\u201d to look for qualified U.S. workers who can fill their 40 advertised positions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to reach out to all qualified U.S. workers. That\u2019s our objective,\u201d said Flores, who also noted that they will start scheduling interviews by next week.<\/p>\n
As the Nov. 27 deadline for foreign workers draws near, Saipan Ice & Water Co. human resource staffer Maxima Lisua said that while their company will keep workers in skilled positions such as electricians and accountants, they are looking for U.S. workers to fill their anticipated vacancies for production and delivery staff. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good event and I\u2019m hopeful that we can find workers who are devoted and would come to work every day,\u201d said Lisua, adding that they will begin with their selection and interview process next week. <\/p>\n
Hafa Adai Beach Hotel HR manager Juan I. Tenorio said their company is now interviewing applicants that applied for the 48 positions they announced during the Department of Commerce-sponsored job expo last month.<\/p>\n
They only set up a booth at yesterday\u2019s job fair to inform job applicants about the duties and responsibilities of the positions they want to apply for as well as company expectations and standard, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more we educate applicants, the more empowerment we can give to them so they can do what they need to do to prepare themselves to be in the job market,\u201d added Tenorio.<\/p>\n
Labor Secretary Gil San Nicolas thanked all participants for the \u201cgood turnout.\u201d He emphasized that the event is a partnership between the government and the private sector. <\/p>\n
San Nicolas encouraged U.S. workers not to give up. \u201cContinue to search for the job you\u2019re interested in. Continue to follow up with those companies that you have applied with.\u201d <\/p>\n
Washington delegate Gregorio Kilili Sablan, who was also at the job fair, commended the Department of Labor \u201cfor a very successful event.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jess Mac of Dandan village woke up early on Wednesday, determined to find a job that would help him provide for his family, particularly his ailing mother.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156340\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}