NMTI launches program to help HS students choose career

Northern Marianas Trades Institute Planning, Budget, and Grants director Frank M. Rabauliman said the program that they would introduce to high school students this coming school year would help them decide to choose what career path they would take.

NMTI and the CNMI State Public School System has entered into a partnership where the former would teach different vocational skills—mostly in the hard trades like HVAC maintenance, electronics technician, and auto mechanic—to students from the 9th to 12th grade.

“Starting SY 2018-2019, we hope to provide the heavy trades courses to high school students. This is going to require a lot of collaboration between the NMTI and PSS, from the counselors to ours and their student services, to try and come up with the schedules,” said Rabauliman.

He said the students could be brought to NMTI’s facility in Lower Base after they gave two vans to PSS with one more to be turned over in a later date while there will also be times that their instructors would go to the schools to hold classes there.

“It all depends, we do have limited spaces and classrooms. This is going to be the first time that we’re going to bus the high school students here. We send our instructors to the high schools to teach some of the courses,” said Rabauliman.”

“We’re tying to bring them here that’s why it’s important that we give those vans. We’re still trying to develop the entire curriculum and program from 9th to 12th grade. Where at 9th grade, students will be doing some sort of exploratory [on what would they wanted].”

“At 9th grade, they explore occupations then when they already know what’s their calling, then they would pursue that career. We would be able to provide hard trades and if they want to go into teaching [after completing the course] they can also get into our program.”

He added that students would be given the chance of exploring different types of careers and opportunities like what they offer in the heavy trades. “Since, this is where we are in [heavy trades].”

“But we also would like to see other careers for them like teaching, nursing, and others. Those would be nice to be rounded up, different occupations or careers that one could pursue after high school,” Rabauliman said.

He added that if by 10th grade students decide to take up welding as vocational course, they would then be introduced to Welding Level 1 and to the next level in the 11th grade, until they complete the entire program.

“And after 12th grade some of these students will be well versed enough to be able to move to on the job training or get hired outright by businesses, companies, and employers that need the services of a welder,” said Rabauliman.