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NMTI lays the groundwork for trades professionals
Responding to questions why the Northern Marianas Technical Institute’s ongoing five-week summer program is targeting middle schoolers, NMTI interim chief executive officer Jodina Attao believes in the long-term benefits of reaching out to the youth.
“The younger the mind we tap into and the more exposure we give these kids to all the different trades out there, the better direction they will have [in the future] to know what they actually want to do when they grow up,” said Attao.
That’s mainly because many have the mistaken idea that pursuing a trade is just a fallback option. Attao explained that it has been her experience that, as people age, their openness and reception to new options gradually decreases. She acknowledges that there are adults and high schoolers who have a clear interest in pursuing a trade, but Attao said she also understands that changing an older person’s mind on the trades or getting an otherwise uninterested person interested in the trades is a challenge.
“It’s easier to leave an impression on a younger person than it is to leave an impression on an older person,” said Attao.
By reaching out to the youth—even if the benefits of the approach will possibly take many years to come to fruition— Attao hopes to increase the number of future students who graduate from high school and decide to pursue a trade.
NMTI’s five-week summer program for 35 Tanapag Middle School students, which is set to go on from June 29 to Aug. 2, will expose the students to interactive courses in the culinary arts; electronics; carpentry; welding and heating; venting and air conditioning; and auto mechan work. In the final week of the pilot summer program, the students will be treated to field trips where they will be exposed to real-life applications of some of the things they learned.
