Kia’aina meets with stakeholders on workforce dev’t

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas, Esther Kia’aina, met with various key partners of the CNMI government for developing the Commonwealth’s workforce.

Labor Secretary Edith DeLeon Guerrero, together with other members of the CNMI Workforce Committee, discussed their development strategies in addressing the impending need for workers as the CW program ends in 2019.

Among those present at the meeting were the Department of Commerce, Northern Marianas College and the Nutrition Assistance Program of the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs.

According to Guerrero, they presented data of what each of the key players are doing to address the transition of workforce in the Commonwealth.

Guerrero said their data showed the reality that they are not going to have the sufficient workforce to fuel the pipeline come 2019.

“But that doesn’t mean that we don’t continue with our efforts to try,” Guerrero added.

The committee also made known to Kia’aina how the CW fee of $150 per beneficiary is not enough to train those who will be replacing the foreign workers but that they are doing the most out of the funds they are getting.

The meeting also became a reminder of the Commonwealth’s responsibility to develop its own workforce.

According to Guerrero, Kia’aina was “very passionate about workforce development.”

“She’s very supportive of us and encouraged us to continue working together,” Guerrero told Saipan Tribune.

Kia’aina also mentioned about early development and what was being done to develop the younger population to be able to work for the Commonwealth in the future.

Guerrero said it was also pointed out at the meeting that it is not only about having enough resident workers to replace foreign workers but also maintaining the quality of the workforce.

One outcome of the meeting is the development of a workforce survey by the Commerce Department. They will be looking into the 10,000 individuals in the population who are not actively looking for work.

Prior to their meeting, Kia’aina urged the committee to build up their strategies.

“My message to them is, please do what you can to develop your workforce development strategy. Failure to come up with strategies to invest in the local workforce will not be helpful to your long-term objectives,” Kia’aina said.