Guam Department of Education Superintendent Jon Fernandez spoke at the Guam Chamber of Commerce’s general membership meeting today regarding future GDOE graduates, community partnerships as well as addressing workforce development issues.
Fernandez started his speech talking about Guam’s workforce development and how it pertains to future graduates from the public school system.
Fernandez assured the Chamber that career readiness is embedded within their state strategic plans and is a high priority for GDOE in developing the future of Guam’s workforce.
This workforce will primarily be comprised of some 2,000 graduates GDOE produces each year and those individuals must be prepared to assimilate and thrive within local jobs and the community.
The speech echoed the agency’s philosophy and spectrum of responsibilities of working with partner agencies to best prepare students.
“The message I want to give is that GCC and UOG are both working hand in hand to try and figure out how to make it easier for students to be prepared for college before they leave high school. So that you don’t have to find out when you take a placement exam that you’re not ready for a credit-bearing course. That just means we have to be talking to each other, working together, innovating and doing our work before graduation,” Fernandez said.
He added that the goal of the department is to prepare and ensure that all graduating students are ready, capable, and certified based on a national assessment with the skill set to contribute back to the island’s workforce.
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