NMC Partners With Workforce "Action Team"

NMC partners with workforce ‘action team’
Tuesday, 09 March 2010 00:00 By Junhan B. Todeno - Reporter
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NORTHERN Marianas College officials last week met with the Strategic Workforce Action Team, which aims to “enhance” the labor market.

Representatives of the Strategic Workforce Action Team meet in a conference room at Northern Marianas College.“It has been found in studies that a thriving community has a trained and qualified labor workforce,” NMC interim President Lorraine T. Cabrera said.

The members of the action team include representatives from the Northern Marianas Trades Institute, International

Business and Professional College, NMC, the Public School System, the Workforce Investment Agency, the Department of Labor, the Office of Saipan Higher Education Financial Assistance, the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, the Department of Public Health and the Saipan Chamber of Commerce.

They discussed labor market information, including labor demand and supply as well as education.

They also talked about economic development, funding assistance and resources for employers, partnerships with the U.S. Apprenticeship Program, vocational and technical training, financial aid for college, challenges and barriers, and strategies for effective collaborative relationships.

“The information that is gathered through meetings such as this is significant to the success of employers and employees in the CNMI,” Cabrera said.

She said the team was formed in Sept. 2007 and is made up of organizations that have strong interest in workforce development and labor force preparation.

The action team, which meets on a quarterly basis, serves as a program advisory council to NMC on workforce development and continuing education needs.

It advises the college on labor market needs and the preparedness of the current and emerging labor supply.