Workforce Development SUCCESSES, CHALLENGES, AND PRESSING DEMANDS

CNMI Historical Context  Local control of Immigration granted through CNMI Covenant allowed for the liberal influx of foreign workers to the islands  Between 1980 and 2000 the CNMI population increased from about 16,800 to 69,200 – an increase driven primarily by immigrant laborers  According to 2000 Census 58 percent of the population were foreign born  Most workers were employed in the garment and tourism industries, which accounted for 80 percent of all employment in the CNMI in 1995, and 90 percent of the economy’s export income, directly and indirectly By 2010, 44.8 percent of the population were foreign born Overall unemployment grew from 3.9 percent in 2000 to approximately 25 percent in 2007

Major Events Affecting CNMI Labor

End of the Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA) | China Joining WTO  Greatly affected the unique competitive advantage of CNMI Garment Factories  In four years following the end of the MFA, the last of the 34 garment factories operating on the islands closed  CNMI lost $80 million in direct government revenue  Overall unemployment grew from 3.9 percent in 2000 to approximately 25 percent in 2007

Implementation of P.L  The Consolidated Natural Resource Act of 2008 federalized immigration control  The transition to federal control called for the complete transition of foreign workers by 2014  CNMI and DHS agreed on the issuance of “umbrella permits” for foreign workers with valid CNMI work permits allowing foreign workers to continue employment under a Transitional Worker Nonimmigrant Visa classification, known as the CW1 and CW2 visas.  Transition period also included a H-visa national cap exclusion  Transition period was extended in 2014 to end in 2019  In FY 14, DHS allotted to the CNMI 14,000 CW visas  In FY 15, that number was reduced to 13,999

Successes and Plan of Action

Funding for Skills Training  There is an urgency to address the need for skilled workers that are responsive to the transition mandate that will be vacated by foreign workers  In response, P.L requires employers to pay a $150 fee for each petitioned beneficiary  These funds are appropriated to the Northern Marianas College, the CNMI Public School System, and will soon be appropriated to the Northern Marianas Trade Institute

State Workforce Investment Board  Upcoming appointments to the State Workforce Investment Board will strengthen the success of our workforce system transformation and Workforce Investment Opportunity Act (WIOA) responsiveness  CNMI Department of Labor and implementation of the WIOA builds the “client focused” delivery infrastructure  Goals  Self-sufficiency  Economic inclusiveness  Private sector partnerships

Creation of the American Job Center/Workforce Delivery System Alignment  Focus remains on the creation of the American Job Center  Virtual “One Stop Career Center” up and running and achieving promising results  Provides real-time job postings  Easy, accessible, end-user driven  Since its launch, the online center received 855,492 visits

Youth Initiatives  Active utilization of formula Employment & Training Administration funds  Summer youth employment  Cooperative Education Program  Nursing Assistants Program  CNMI WIA Program working collaboratively with CNMI Division of Youth Affairs to leverage funding

Ongoing Challenges

Statutory Changes needed in Workforce laws  Definition of “state” crucial in eligibility for federal grants  Wagner-Peyser  Job Corps  Trade Adjustment Assistance Grant  Jobs for Veterans State Grants

Absence of Adequate Data  CNMI currently behind on current and crucial economic and labor force data  No official unemployment rate  No up to date population data  No up to date demographic data  Inclusion into the American Community Survey and other surveys conducted by the US Census Bureau is essential to adequate decision making in the CNMI  Data collection and reporting system that connects education, employment, and other workforce related data is needed, but there is a lack of local funding.

Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act  New requirements that 75 percent of Youth funding be spend on out of school youth  CNMI’s high school graduation rate is 96 percent or more every year  “One size does not fit all”  There is a demand for a flexibility with this requirement that takes into account the local circumstances

Infrastructure and Resource Development  CNMI is looking at close to 200 occupations, filled by about 14,000 non-U.S. citizens, that will need to be filled by U.S. workers following the end of the transition  Training for these occupations range from $4,000 to $6,000  Inter alia, the CNMI needs more than $145 mil in training funds to build workforce capacity to meet the labor demands of 2019  Department of Labor Secretary Tom E. Perez  “The total number of unemployed US workers in the CNMI in 2010 amounted to only about 20 percent of the 14,958 foreign workers. Even if all the US workers not in the labor force were employed, more than 11,000 jobs would still need to be filled by foreign workers.”

Thank you