Solutions to Shortage of Professionals

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A short term solution offered by the Nua/Satele team to address the lack of qualified professionals in the territory is to provide incentives to keep those in hard to fill professional here.

One of the questions for the American Samoa Bar Association Gubernatorial Forum last Thursday night: “American Samoa has a serious shortage of qualified and trained local professionals. If elected how would your administration overcome the continuous shortage of local qualified professionals and reduce the need to hire from off island?” 

Answering for the Nua/Satele team was candidate for lt governor Tapumanaia Galu Satele Jr. He gave as examples of incentives fair salaries, medical benefits, travel and housing benefits which are offered to contract workers. But for the long term he said the ASG scholarship program should be tailored to meet hard to fill jobs.

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Candidate for Governor in the Gaoteote/Faiivae team, Senate President Gaoteote Palaie Tofau said departments should identify professional workers that are needed and provide opportunities to train locals to fill those jobs. He said those given these opportunities can become trainers for the local workforce , something like a “train the trainers” program.

He said government scholarships should also cater to filling professional jobs and mentioned as examples, lawyers, doctors , engineers, and accountants. 

Gaoteote also emphasized the role of the vocational technical high school in training carpenters, electricians, plumbers and other trade jobs. He observed that very few of our people like to go into the trades and when you need air-conditioning repair services, a Samoan will be carrying the air conditioner and the Filipino or Japanese will carry just his repair tools.

He said we have become dependent on outsiders for these trades when we should be training our on people to do those jobs.

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