 Welcome to Connecting Hawaii Business on ThinkTech Hawaii. My name is Kathleen Lee, owner of Kathleen Lee Consulting, and I am your host for this program. ThinkTech Hawaii is currently live streamed on ThinkTechHawaii.com, as well as on ThinkTech Hawaii's Facebook and YouTube pages, and viewers have the opportunity to ask us questions during the show by emailing questions at ThinkTechHawaii.com. For today's program, we will be talking about updates on Hawaii is hiring, which is a resource for employment that was launched in 2020 in response to the effects of COVID-19 on Hawaii's workforce. Joining us today from the Chamber of Commerce Commerce of Hawaii, I know it's going to stutter somewhere. Joining us from the Chamber of Commerce are Keala Peters, Executive Vice President of Education and Workforce Development, and Katie Kahanui, Education and Workforce Development Coordinator. Keala and Katie, welcome to the program. Thank you, Kathleen. Absolutely. So tell our viewers about yourselves. Keala, let's start with you. Great. Kathleen, thank you for giving us a chance to come on your show today. So I am the Executive Vice President for Education and Workforce Development at the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii. And so what that means is that our team works to connect Kama'aina with careers here in Hawaii and prepare our students for high-scale, high-wage, in-demand jobs here in Hawaii. I was born and raised in Hawaii. I have a large Kama'aina family, so I care deeply about connecting our youth in particular with careers here in Hawaii. My background is primarily in marketing and communications and change management. And I've worked here in Hawaii as well as on the mainland for large corporations like Nike and Microsoft, and large corporations here in Hawaii like Queens and Hawaii Pacific Health. Thank you, Keala. That's great. I actually didn't know a lot of those things about you, so thank you for sharing that. What about you, Katie? Tell our viewers about yourself. Sure. My name is Katie Kaohenui. I'm the Education and Workforce Development Coordinator at the Chamber. I was also born and raised here, went to Kalani High School, and prior to the Chamber I worked at the YMCA upon a lulu for about seven years, so very familiar with the boots on the ground community work that we continue to do at the Chamber. But for my role, a little like Keala mentioned, we wear many hats. And so in addition to the workplace learning efforts that we do as well as our sector partnership initiatives, Hawaii's hiring is also one of my biggest projects right now, so we're excited to share more about it. Thank you. So let's go over Hawaii is hiring. I had a one-sentence blurb, but you folks are the experts on it. How did it start? We know that COVID-19 had a lot to do with it. Partnerships are also in play when it comes to making program work. So tell us about Hawaii's hiring. Sure. So Hawaii's hiring is an initiative that the Chamber launched in July of last year. And so as we all know, at that time we were a few months into COVID, the unemployment numbers were soaring. And the goal at the time was just to create a resource that could be a one-stop shop for folks who quickly wanted to get connected back to work. And so with the generous help and support of people like the Workforce Development Council, American Savings Bank, the Hawaii Executive Collaborative, for example, we were able to quickly stand this up in about 10 or 11 weeks, and it continues to be a repository of resources for the community. Very awesome. Keala, did you want to answer that as well? Well, I would add that at the time we were really reflecting, what is our community need and how can we be of greatest service? And we decided that really streamlining the process to finding jobs and training, which is really important, was going to be of great value to people affected by the pandemic. And so as Katie mentioned, within a short period of 11 weeks, we went from idea and concept to launch. And we are grateful to our partners at the Workforce Development Council and others who made it all possible. Wonderful. Let's pull up the Hawaii Is Hiring homepage so people can get an idea of where that is or where it's housed online. So Katie, can you go over this graphic? Sure. So this is the Hawaii Is Hiring homepage. The website is hawaiyeishiring.com. And you'll see here, this is maybe just the top half of the full homepage. But you'll see that we offer our Virtual Career Explorer, which is one of the highlights of the homepage. It gives users one of five different journeys that they can take. We can go more into that later. But we also showcase, as you can see towards the bottom of the site, the top 10 companies that are hiring right now, as well as the top 10 occupations that are in demand. And we filter and get those results by utilizing labor market data. So those are changing in real time. So folks can always log on at any given point and see who's hiring right now. I really appreciate how you folks do that, how you give the community a heads up on who is hiring. Because I think a lot of times people think that because things have slowed down that the resources are scarce. So I love how Hawaii Is Hiring presents that there are opportunities out there. On that note, let's pull up the second graphic. I'm ready to find a job. Sure. So this is the I'm ready to find a job feature. Still today, it's one of our most highly utilized areas of the website. And this is where you go if you're just ready to look for work. So we have the job search tool on the top of the page. We filter results from both hire net and indeed, as well as manually plug in information about companies who are hiring under that. But something that's really important for folks to know about what is hiring is that we're not just another job search tool or just another job search portal. It was never designed to be that. So our goal was to create a streamlined access place for folks to get simplified access to job opportunities. And so the idea is that they would come to this page, do a simple job search and they would see everything that's posted from indeed, hire net, glass door and a multitude of different job search places. So we just wanted it to be an easy place to get access to many things. Wonderful. Let's let's pull up the third graphic, the virtual career explorer. Now, Kelly, you mentioned earlier as well that it's beyond and Katie, but Kelly, you mentioned that it's not just job search. There are other opportunities as well that Hawaii is hiring offers. So could you go more into that? Yeah, you know, in our planning process, and I should mention that we worked with some really brilliant people at Upspring Digital to develop this site. So in our planning process with them, we really stepped back and evaluated what are the journeys that impacted workers need to go on as they face unemployment? And so the first was obviously I need to find a job. And these are for people who must get back into the workforce right away. And the second is I've just graduated. You know, what are my next steps? And so we know that there are thousands of comma I know who are newly matriculated, and we wanted to help them really be able to quickly access the resources that they need to be able to move into the workforce during such a challenging time. And then you can see the other three journeys there. We know that dislocated workers need training. And we really encourage folks in times like this to take a step back and evaluate. Might this be the right time for me to sharpen my skills, learn some new skills, transfer into a new industry. And so we did a lot of work to co-locate that information there about training from short term certifications that really can position you well for employment to two year degrees to four year degrees. There is also earn and learn opportunities, specifically apprenticeships and internships. And that information exists in many, many places. But what our team has done is put it all together and aggregate it here in Hawaii is hiring. And then finally, we know that many, many people simply need support and relief. And again, that information is out in the community, but Hawaii is hiring co-locates it for you so that it's right there with one click. Wonderful. What are the types of industries that are available or that you've seen so far as far as companies coming forward and saying this is what we have available for the community? Yeah. So, you know, in the summertime at around the same time that we're working on what is hiring, the Chamber worked with the Castle Foundation, Commendment Schools and what you P 20 on something called the talent roadmap. And what that was was really an analysis of where are the jobs? And all of the data pointed to three primary industries where jobs were forecasted to grow. The first is health care. And we see a lot of evidence around the need for increasing our health care workforce. The second is business building and construction. There is a lot of infrastructure work happening in our community. And so there are plentiful jobs in that area. And then the third is technology. And that really highlights sort of where the needle is pointing, where the future jobs are. And what we want to do is make sure that we're positioning people for future success, not just paycheck today, but future success. And so those are the three industries that that we highlight. And Hawaii is hiring goes into great, great depth about those industries. And so people can visit the site and they can learn things like, number one, am I a good fit for jobs in this industry? Number two, what are the different types of positions in these industries? And number three, how do I get started? And so all of that is there for. Are there and they know that the chamber, as well as other organizations, have been looking towards other options aside from hospitality when it comes to different jobs? Are those our positions in hospitality also available on Hawaii is hiring? Yeah, so, you know, every industry is represented where there are jobs. Hawaii is hiring is talking about it. And we should note that today there are almost twenty three thousand job openings on Hawaii is hiring. And we don't list the twenty three thousand. We instead connect you to job boards like higher net and indeed to find those jobs. But there are twenty three thousand jobs available now and they are in every industry, including to some degree hospitality, but more so in other industries. For instance, right now our top ten occupations are things like retail sales, health care, as I mentioned, customer service, delivery. And there is a great need for that. There are a whole host of technology related positions as well. And so job seekers should should check out some of those tech jobs and you can take your skills, for instance, as a front desk clerk at a hotel and transfer those skills to a position in technology like computer user support. And so it takes some thinking to think about, OK, what are my skills and how can I transfer them? But that's something to consider not saying that hospitality is an industry that you shouldn't maintain optimism about because we know that that's coming back. But it might be a chance to diversify your skill set and just consider other other industries. Awesome. With something like this that is newly launched, I feel like you've gained a lot of success. What are the challenges that you face when it comes to doing something like this, which is very innovative, but also very new, especially when it comes to Hawaii. I have a couple that I'll mention and I'm sure Katie has others as well. So we launched this very quickly. And so it was launched in English, but we recognize that a large segment of our community doesn't have English as their first language. And so recently we were able to go back in and add eight additional languages for translation. We want Hawaii is hiring to be a tool for our entire community, not just our English speaking community. So that was a challenge, but we overcame it. I would also say that we we recognize that digital literacy varies and not everybody has the same level of digital digital literacy. And so how can we make sure that Hawaii is hiring is accessible to everyone who's looking for work, not just those who can navigate a computer? And so that's an inherent challenge with being a web tool. But we've tried to work hard to make sure that it's easy to navigate. We use a lot of icons. And so we want to be very user friendly. That is a lot of information that you folks have provided so far in the first half. We will take a short break, but when we come back, we will talk more about Hawaii is hiring updates. Stay tuned. Welcome back to Connecting Hawaii Business on ThinkTech Hawaii. Today we are talking about Hawaii is hiring updates with Katie Ahanui and Kayla Peters. When we left off, the discussion was about the challenges that Hawaii is hiring space. So, Katie, can you go over that before we launch into the next point of our discussion? Yeah, so another one of the challenges that I faced having stood this up so quickly is to figure out that sweet spot of how we can continue to give companies added visibility for their positions, knowing that we're not a job search tool. So we do everything from sharing on social media to manually and putting companies that are hiring on our website and linking people out. Another neat feature that is one of the ways that we solve this issue was that we're soon will be adding a fillable form on the website where companies can log on fill in their company info, the positions that they're hiring for include the correct link that they want to send folks to. And then once they publish it, we'll have it in live time on the site. So that will give folks the added visibility as well as the other ways that we share their positions. So that was one of the ways we had to think quickly as well. That's super efficient, Ashley. And on that note, I know you get a lot of questions and you rounded up some of the common ones, so let's pull up the common questions that the Hawaii is hiring program has started. So, Katie, if you can go over that. Sure. So I thought it would be helpful to share some of the common questions that we get for Hawaii is hiring. And the first one, which is probably the most prevalent is from employers. And they're just asking how does my company post a position on on Hawaii is hiring, we went over the biggest portion. And that's knowing that if your positions are posted on other job search tools, it'll show on the site. So that one, I do have to explain to folks they're relieved to know that. Additionally, with the fillable form that's coming up as well as social media and other ways that we can share positions, employers can reach out to us at any time and we're happy to share that too. So we're happy to just give folks added visibility and social media pushes whenever they're interested in that. Another question that I get often is is Hawaii is hiring Oahu specific? And the answer is no, it's statewide. We did participate in the Oahu back to work job fair last year. So that may have added to some confusion, but we are statewide and also on our job search page, we tailor for you resources specific to Hawaii County. So on our page, you could be able to scroll down and see the resources specific to each county and a program that I wanted to highlight, which I'm actually really impressed with is the Rise to Work program offered for Kauai. And so that's a part of their Kauai Forward Initiative. And that's a Kauai specific program that tailors employers on Island, two folks who have been displaced by COVID and gives them temporary work opportunities from a pool of participating employers. And so that program started last year, it was recently reinstated for this year, but they're still hiring for multitudes of positions. And you can find those specifically on that site. So I believe it's kauaiforward.com slash Rise to Work, but that's one amazing resource for Kauai residents. And it's also important to note that employment and training opportunities that are offered through programs like that might not be accessible through a basic job search. So it's always a good idea to just see what's available in your county, especially if you're from Honolulu County. And we can just explore from there. Wonderful. For the folks that are tuning in, does it cost anything to, you know, or taking the way is hiring programs? Right now, right now, no. So we're happy to share your positions through email. You can reach out to us through our website. We also share on social media. If you just tag us at Hawaii is hiring, I'm happy to share your posts via that way as well, but just reach out to us and we can talk about the positions you want to share and how that could possibly look. We also have a newsletter that goes out every other Tuesday. And so if there are time sensitive or urgent openings that you'd like us to push out, we're happy to do so via that route as well. Awesome. Is there anything else that either of you would like to have that we haven't gone over yet when it comes to the Hawaii is hiring program? Yeah, you know, Kathleen, so in our community, one in ten are unemployed. And that's a pretty staggering figure when we think about how our friends and families have been affected by by covid. And so we, you know, we encourage folks to really spend time on Hawaii is hiring. Every month, we have thousands of individuals who come to our website and scour the information that is there. We have staff who spend all their time gathering the internet for information that would be helpful to comma, I know who are seeking work or training. And so we've done a lot of the heavy lifting to put it all in one place. And so dig around, go deep. There is a tremendous amount of information in particular regarding what we've identified as nine emerging industries that show promise for future jobs in Hawaii. So grab your cup of coffee, spend some time on the site and know that Hawaii is hiring is there to support you in your journey from where you are today to employment. Thanks, Kali. Katie, did you want to add to that? We actually have time if you want to mention the nine industries that you folks just kind of mentioned. Yeah. So first quickly, I also wanted to add that I think it's important for everybody to realize and learn more about upskilling efforts. And if there's anything that we all learned this past year, it's it gave us the chance to really review the kinds of transferable skills that we all have like Kiala was mentioning. And, you know, those are skills that can be applicable across industry, whether you want to go that route, or if you're looking to move up in your current position, upskilling opportunities, short term credential programs and other certifications that you can just have as a notch on your belt will help you tremendously and give you so much more leverage should it ever be time for you to look for a new job, even if it's in a completely new industry, you have the skills, you have the leverage, and you have more marketability when it comes to you looking for a job. So we're doing our best to also keep sharing those kinds of opportunities on the site. And as soon as we hear about things, we'll have them posted for you there. You don't go ahead, Kiala. I was going to say, I'd love to go deeper into that because this really is an opportunity to evaluate what are my skills and what are the new skills that, you know, I'd like to add. And there are some assessments on the site to help you go through that for the evaluation, but more importantly, wonderful partners in the community have offered free training. Some of them are complete, for instance, the Hawaii Technology Development Corp, HTDC, provided thousands of Coursera technology related courses for free to our community. That program has ended, but we know that, you know, there's more to come. Also, I want to call out our partners at the University of Hawaii Community Colleges, and they did a lot of work, particularly in healthcare, technology, other emerging sectors to make training available for free to dislocated workers. And so there was a program this summer called Oahu Back to Work that offered really eight, 12 week courses that culminated with achieving a certification that you as a job seeker could take to an employer and say, I'm certified in A-plus. I'm ready now to be, you know, a network specialist in technology. So that information is there. We know that our federal government has allocated new dollars to training. And so there should be a whole another round of support for job seekers. We're excited to see what our partners at places like HTDC and UHDC, our community colleges put together to offer our community. So really, you know, stay tuned into Hawaii is hiring, subscribe to the newsletter, follow on social. And as soon as our team is aware of a new offering, you're going to see it pushed out on Hawaii is hiring on our communication channels. So there's a lot of resources for folks both currently and we anticipate coming down the pipe very, very soon. Let's pull up that last graphic on Kala's note about staying in touch. So you have a state connected graphic there, Katie, can you go over that so people know how to reach you folks or how to get updates? Absolutely. So to stay in touch with us, we are on social media. We have Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn account all at Hawaii is hiring. And we will push out job opportunities, news, training and employment events as we get them on there. We also, like I mentioned before, have our newsletter, which we publish every two weeks. And so that will include information on recent job openings. A lot of the times companies reach out to us wanting to push out time sensitive openings, so you might have access to opportunities there that you wouldn't see in a job search right away, too, as well as upcoming events and programs and other kinds of community programs that we would like people to just be aware of. And so in addition to that, there's always the website Hawaii is hiring dot com where you can take your assessments, look at available jobs, look at events, resources and just other kinds of opportunities for you to upskill and excel no matter what stage of your professional career that you're in right now. Thank you, Katie. And on that note, we will wrap up our program. We have been talking about Hawaii is hiring updates with Katie Kahanui and Kala Peters from the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. Thank you to J. Fidel and the staff at Think Tech for making this program possible. We had Haley helping us out tonight. I am Kathleen. This afternoon, look at that. I'm fast forwarding it already. But thank you everyone for joining us and we will see you again in the next two weeks. Aloha.