SAIPAN — The Northern Marianas Technical Institute is calling on residents to take a serious look at careers in the skilled trades, pointing to a stark gap between what the CNMI’s labor market demands and how many people are training to meet it.
According to the CNMI Department of Labor’s Employment Services Division, approximately 4,000 job openings were advertised, half of them in construction and extraction occupations, the largest occupational group sought by employers. Installation, maintenance and repair accounted for close to 500 more openings, with food preparation and service-related occupations close to 200.
Against that demand, NMTech currently reports 75 enrollments across its selected course offerings. Construction Core Fundamentals leads with 30 students, followed by Culinary Arts Level 2 with 11, Baking and Pastry and Automotive Core with seven each, Brake Systems with six, Heavy Equipment Operator Level 1 and Electrical Level 3 with five each and Electrical Level 1 with four.
The institute said some classes have not been able to run at all because enrollment was too low, even in fields where the labor market shows clear need.
“We already know the need is there,” NMTech Chief Executive Officer Jodina Attao said, pointing to the Department of Labor data and to the Commonwealth’s experience after major typhoons. “We cannot wait until the next disaster or workforce crisis to decide that these skills are important. We have to build that capacity now.”
The institute framed the push in the language of recovery. After Super Typhoons Sinlaku and Bavi damaged homes, businesses, utilities and public infrastructure, it said, recovery depended on people who know how to build, repair, wire, operate equipment and restore essential services, and the Commonwealth cannot begin searching for skilled workers after the next storm arrives.
“These careers are not secondary to economic development. They make economic development possible,” Attao said.
She said a program tied to a demonstrated workforce need that cannot run for low enrollment is a missed opportunity for the entire Commonwealth. “Every seat we fill today can become an electrician, technician, operator, chef, builder or future business owner tomorrow,” she said.
NMTech is calling on students to enroll, parents to encourage technical careers, employers to invest in training and upskilling and agencies and community organizations to connect residents with training opportunities.
“The demand is here. The training is here. Now we need our people to step forward,” Attao said.
