Where Have They All Gone?

Hezel, Francis X. (2024-06-24). [www.micsem.org Where Have They All Gone?]. Micronesian Counselor (Report). Kolonia, Pohnpei: Micronesian Seminar. pp. 1–6.

• Has attachment: File:368LEMGE.pdf

Abstract: "Where have all the workers gone? That was the question that seemed to rank as one of the paramount concerns at the recent Micronesian Island Forum meeting, held here on Guam in early June. Where have they all gone? is a song commonly sung in the region these days. Everyone is complaining about the shortage of workers. Wendy’s and the other fast-food places on Guam are short-staffed. So are the general stores, supermarkets, and even the radio stations and the daily newspaper, if we can believe the Help Wanted signs that are seen everywhere.

The shortage is even worse when it comes to skilled labor, some of the Forum members complained. There are simply not enough engineers, mechanics, or even school teachers in any of the nation states around the area. This regional shortage of labor is why much of the discussion was directed at education, asking how we might be able to reorganize our schools to provide the training needed for persons with these skills.

But all that might be a distraction from the fundamental problem. Perhaps the real issue is not so much a matter of training as of retaining–that is, retaining the island people who have been educated to handle jobs that they can not take because they have left home to live abroad. Is the real problem not just shortage of skilled workers, but a widespread population loss in general? This is certainly the case in FSM and the Marshalls, even if other parts of the region might not be suffering the same level of population decline. We may not be able to find simple solutions to a problem that is of concern throughout the entire region, but a closer look at two of the Compact nations might indicate patterns that have some relevance to the rest of Micronesia..."

Extra details:

DOI: 10.1111/1471-3802.12104
MAG: 1989897977
CorpusID: 143580974
OpenAlex: W1989897977