SAIPAN — The Northern Marianas Technical Institute and the CNMI Public School System have formalized a partnership that will allow high school students across the Commonwealth to earn industry-recognized trade certifications before they receive their diplomas.
Officials from NMTech and PSS signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday at the NMTech campus, with Commissioner of Education and representatives from the CNMI Department of Labor also in attendance. The agreement establishes a dual enrollment framework under which students can complete certification courses through NMTech while still completing their high school requirements.
Programs set to launch this coming fall include Trading Up Construction, which offers two tracks, a Core Fundamentals course covering basic construction skills, and a Construction Craft Laborer course incorporating welding, carpentry and electrical. Additional programs include Trading Up Hospitality, Trading Up Electric Vehicle, and Trading Up Google Career Certificates, with an emphasis on AI Essentials and Project Management for workforce readiness.
Students who complete the courses will earn elective credits toward high school graduation and will also be eligible for post-secondary credit at NMTech, ranging from one to six credits depending on the program. The hospitality certification, for example, requires 60 to 75 contact hours including hotel shadowing, and qualifies graduates to enter the industry directly upon leaving high school. More than 200 students have already been certified in hospitality through NMTech’s existing programs.
The Commissioner said the agreement is achievable and long overdue.
“There are students who veer off to go into college, but then there are a lot of students that are left behind and just don’t know where to go,” he said. “This lines them up for a future that goes into post-secondary, and they don’t have to leave the island.”
NMTech officials also unveiled a unified marketing initiative called Hands-on and Homegrown, developed in coordination with PSS and the Department of Labor. The campaign is designed to reach students, parents and the broader community through school-based assemblies, career demonstrations, counselor toolkits, and student content creation contests. Each PSS counselor is set to receive program materials and NM Tech merchandise to display in counseling offices.
Officials acknowledged the program is being developed with an eye toward 2029, when changes to the Commonwealth’s guest worker program are expected to significantly reduce the availability of foreign labor in key trades. NMTech’s president said the partnership is about building local capacity regardless of what federal immigration policy ultimately looks like.
“We need to build our own capacity and determine our own destination,” the Commissioner said. “The writing is on the wall.”
Discussion after the signing touched on the broader potential of the framework. Officials noted that existing law already requires 15 to 20 percent local workforce participation in construction projects, and suggested that future contracting for NMC’s planned campus expansion could incorporate a requirement for workers who have completed NM Tech programs.
NMTech officials also indicated they are exploring a further dual enrollment arrangement between NMTech and the Northern Marianas College that would allow advanced students to pursue associate’s degree coursework while still in high school.
The signed MOU and Wednesday’s presentation materials will be distributed to all PSS principals, counselors and teachers and posted publicly online.
Watch the full press conference on the NMI News Service Facebook page and YouTube channel.
