 Think, Tech Hawaii on Monday, August 29th, 2022. Anybody thinking about what you wanna be when you grow up? Hopefully we have some young people in the audience or people who coach young people about what they're gonna do because we have great news for you as of midnight. This Wednesday night, the Oahu's coal burning plant which produces 20% of Oahu's electricity is going down forever. We have a big funeral service plan for it. Now, what in the world do we do for electricity if 20% of our source goes away? Well, answer in the short run is Hawaiian Electric is gonna have to power up a whole bunch of diesel burning little mini power plants but this gives us the impetus to number one bring on a whole lot more solar panels with battery storage, more wind energy. And from my standpoint, efficiency, efficiency, efficiency do more with less. And what is our new power plant eventually gonna look like? Not anything concrete. It's gonna be a Jillian little solar panels from some of you have solar panels on your roof hopefully with battery storage. You are gonna become suppliers to Hawaiian Electric because the whole system is going to be integrated all the way down to more and more of you are buying electric vehicles. That big battery in your electric vehicle can be a power source for Hawaiian Electric. Everybody's gonna be entering into agreement with Hawaiian Electric. Yes, you can draw from my power source for a limited amount of time. There's gonna be this incredible interconnection between the big solar, the little solar, everybody. And you're gonna say that sounds pretty gosh darn sophisticated, you're right. It is very sophisticated and it's gonna lead to a whole lot of good paying jobs. Generally speaking, the higher your skill level the better your pay and the more contribution you make too. Hawaiian Society and our goal up 100% clean energy by 2045. What does that all have to do with our honorable guest? This morning, Nicolette Van Der Lee Doctor. Congratulations, Dr. Nicolette Van Der Lee. The program manager for HANA Career Pathways coming to us all the way from Kahului Maui. She works on the Maui community. No, it's no longer community camp, college. It's Maui College. And incidentally, it is 100% clean energy powered is that campus. So another congratulations, Dr. Nicolette. Nicolette specializes in training young people for, I wouldn't say lucrative jobs, but this very good jobs provides the skills that they are needed. And today she'll be focusing on the green skills that we are going to increasingly need in the near future. So welcome, welcome, Dr. Van Der Lee and please introduce yourself. Thank you so much for having me, Howard. It's great to be here. Yes, I'm a program manager at the University of Hawaii Community College's Office of the Vice President. And we are coordinating a statewide project called HANA Career Pathways, which was developed by the Hawaii Workforce Development Council, UH, and many other partners. And it's building on the momentum of statewide industry, workforce development, and educational planning to support a thriving, diverse, and resilient Hawaii. The project is seeking to increase employment pathways to three of our most in-demand living wage job sectors, including healthcare, technology, and the skilled trades, which does encompass clean energy. So the needs that you've identified, Howard, what we've learned from our industry partners is there's gonna be hundreds and hundreds of new jobs needed to support our transition to clean energy throughout the state. And those jobs are gonna be very diverse, including licensed electricians, carpenters, masons, as well as the engineers to design the systems, the technicians to maintain them. And also thinking about the IT sector, we'll need those data analysts and all of the IT expertise to maintain those systems. So this project is exciting because it's seeking to reimagine what the workforce preparation can be. And it's actually through the Hawaiian concept of HANA, translating as work with that significance in Hawaiian culture as the act of breathing and unleashing grace to improve the world through one's work. You know, the fundamental components that we're really focusing on are offering short-term trainings that can lead to industry-valued credentials and thinking about what those pathways can be towards in-demand living wage jobs, as we know the cost of living is so high in Hawaii. We can also support pathways into apprenticeship throughout the state and develop post-apprenticeship for pathways and advancement opportunities. Wow, that's pretty darn comprehensive. I like that craze living wage jobs because you read about in the real estate industry, the average home, single family home in Hawaii is now valued at a million dollars. And then you read about employers or workers in Waikiki earning, they go from $11 an hour to $12 an hour to $13, $14 an hour, oh my goodness. That'll certainly get them a million dollar home, won't it? No. So that phrase living wage jobs is very apropos. Also, I've been around for a while and we politicians have been talking about getting our economy off of the total dependence on tourism. And that is exactly, Dr. what you are doing in providing this training. Yeah, one of the goals of the project as it is funded by a $13.3 million grant from the federal Department of Education is to support the state of Hawaii to recover from the negative impacts of the pandemic. We had so many residents that were furloughed and underemployed during the pandemic. And then of course we have many residents as well that they're working two or three jobs just to pay their bills. And so what are those in-demand career pathways that can lead to a living wage? One example in the skilled trades would be the carpenter pathway. So one of the trainings that we have developed in partnership with the Hawaii Carpenter Apprenticeship and Training Fund is a pre-apprenticeship for carpentry that's offered through Honolulu Community College as well as Maui Community College and Maui College. And we're also developing it on other islands, Kaua'i and Hawaii as well so that it has statewide potential. And the idea here is that participants can enter an eight-week training program as a pre-apprentice and they get all of the fundamental skills and introduction for the Carpenter Apprenticeship pathway. And as part of that, they also have a two-week paid internship. So we've embedded that kind of work-based learning so that they really get hands-on experience at a job site. And then students that complete that program are then offered direct entry into the registered apprenticeship program. So it's a really exciting fast-track way for young people or those interested in making a career change can pursue that carpenter pathway which does lead to advancing wages as you work towards becoming a journey worker carpenter as well, which is exciting. That's beautiful. I wish kids had these types of opportunities 20, 30 years ago. We might not be losing a population then. And I think so much is about raising the awareness of the opportunities in the skilled trades, for example, as well as the growing sector of IT. The data indicates that around 50% of our high school graduates are not immediately going on to post-secondary education. So sharing and highlighting these opportunities where we also have 100% tuition support. So most of our programs are actually free trainings and that covers the cost of the training, things like the paid internship. And then many of the trainings also include industry certifications. So for example, in the IT sector, we have trainings like AWS Cloud Foundations or CompTIA Security Plus or Network Plus offered through Honolulu Community College. And the cost of the training includes that exam preparation course as well as books and makes the exam itself free. So removing that barrier of cost is a great opportunity through these grant programs. And then a backdrop to that would be, we read more and more and more about really burdensome student debt. And people are just, they and their parents are wondering, how in the world are we going to pay all this debt? And you have provided a beautiful alternate path here. Absolutely. And for some, it may be the challenge of even just starting. It can be overwhelming to think about applying for college and what that potential student debt load might be. So a program like Honolulu Career Pathways is offering that fast track training opportunity. Most of the trainings can be completed between six weeks to 16 weeks. And at that point in time, the program also offers wraparound services so that we can help provide other resources and advisory services to students who want to now enter the workforce. What are the job opportunities and what employers could we connect them with? If they're interested in continuing their education, we see students get really excited when they come into the college experience. They may now want to pursue a two or four year degree. And so we can also support them in exploring those opportunities. Many of our trainings will have articulation into a degree program. So something like a short-term training can actually be worth about three credits towards a degree program that they could then begin. And our grant can also fund pathway advancement support so we can provide up to $2,000 for students that then enter some of these degree pathways. That is quite a contrast to parents paying up to, I think it's $40,000 a year for a full-on private university education. And that reminds me of a personal experience. I was engaged for some years to an electrical engineer, a very, very successful electrical engineer. And one reason she was successful is when she went onto the job site that where the tradesmen were installing, according to her design, she could point to something and say, this is wrong, this is wrong. And there's tough guys that are looking at her, hey, was this why you need telling us this is wrong? And she stood her ground and she knew exactly what she was talking about, why? She is from Poland and the way you trained electrical engineers in Poland was you did your academic work during the school year and you were required to go into an electrical workshop each summer and do the hands on electrical work and it really, really helped her with her EE career. Absolutely, having that hands on training experience, that's a core part of our state's apprenticeship programs. And young people that may not be aware that, hey, that's a living wage pathway for me. The programs that we're highlighting can introduce and connect our students with these opportunities. So you mentioned the carpentry, what else relevant to green jobs might you be offering there? One exciting thing I also wanted to share is that there's another new grant that has been awarded to University of Hawaii Community Colleges and it's actually in partnership with many industry sectors, including a focus on clean energy with the Hawaii Office of Energy. And so in that sector, that office will be leading a convening of all of our local employers related to clean energy. And this will enable employers to give that direct input on what are the most needed trainings to support the growth of clean energy. And so through that new project, which is called Good Jobs Challenge, Resilient Hawaii, this project will enable us to extend the work that HANA Career Pathways has begun and continue to develop new trainings, particularly in this clean energy sector. So some of the trainings that we could anticipate, Howard could be PV installation and battery-based systems design, for example, could also include things like solar safety trainings that would be the equivalent of an OSHA 10, but in the clean energy sector. And in the past, Maui College has actually worked with Solar Energy International to source that curriculum that is really a global standard leading to certifications in the solar industry. So we're looking to be able to adapt those types of trainings into the context of Hawaii and really customize and tailor that to what are the needs of our local employers so that we can prepare these future workers to bring our vision of clean energy to the state. Wow, that's wonderful. And to my knowledge, every time solar panels are installed, be it on a single family residence or in a great big solar farm, it must be accompanied by an equivalent amount of storage, of battery storage. These are batteries that look kind of like refrigerators. And what happens in Hawaii is we have such beautiful sunshine and we have so many solar panels out there that when the solar energy is produced in the middle of the day, we have no use for the majority of it. So we are now storing that excess energy in solar panels and using it in the evening. Just when the sun is going down, the demand for electricity goes up. Why everybody's coming home from school, from work, all the tourists are coming back from the beach, from tours, whatever. And the demand for electricity just goes up, just skyrocket. So those batteries stored in the middle of the day are taking care of a lot of that load. So that adds to the sophistication of solar installation and if you're gonna be doing this, you had darn well better understand how electricity works. Absolutely, it's really gonna be a diverse skill set across many occupations throughout the state that will be needed to bring this vision to fruition. So we're excited to be able to have these funding resources, Hanukkah Bear Pathways and the Resilient Hawaii Good Jobs Challenge Grant to be able to support really a rapid response to what are our local training needs and how can the community colleges and UH be able to respond to that? Wow, I like that phrase rapid response. Government is generally not known for its rapid response capabilities, but you're bringing it to the fore. And just incidentally, the island of Kauai, some days can shut down its fuel-fired power plants because they're getting so much clean energy and they're still able to store what they have to store and just run on clean energy for some hours of the day. So the dream of 100% clean energy is coming upon us. Absolutely, and it'll be also that mix that's needed to support that. So solar, wind, are there opportunities for biofuels as well? Hawaii has that opportunity to be a model for the world as we're addressing all of the pressing challenges of climate change and the need to develop more efficient and resilient systems. Glad you mentioned the word biofuels. I just had the privilege of touring Honolulu Harbor and the technicians were showing us how all this stuff comes in, how it's sorted and all the stuff that goes out. And a major, major customer there at the Honolulu Waterfront is Pacific biodiesel. They make diesel fuel from plants generally on the big island and then they put it in great big containers and ship it over here and then the empty containers have to go back again. So it's already a major component and hopefully it's gonna be growing. And here's another skill set that's needed. Yeah, it's really interesting to also consider how agriculture is part of that design and development of clean energy. So here on Maui, we've seen the sunflower fields of Pacific biodiesel growing and thriving. So it's really fascinating to see how we can have local inputs that can contribute to those new types of models. And a subset of that is when we try to find a land for a new solar farm, being acres and acres of solar panels, we say, oh, there's that ag land. And the farmers say, no, no, no, we need that to grow crops. So a subset of this is finding those crops that can grow nicely under the partial sun so that you have the panels mounted, say eight feet up and then you space it such it's your machinery and your people can get under that. And the crops that grow are partially shaded, which crops grow best? So that's another little scientific subset going on here. Yeah, it'd be really fascinating to see different pilot projects throughout the islands that could be exploring these different types of technologies, also considering the importance of preserving our watershed and natural resources throughout the islands. Are there ways to integrate the solar farms that are actually designed within a broader scope of protecting our native forests, looking at ways to more carefully manage potential impact of flood during climate change? How do the systems integrate within the landscape as well? I think these are gonna be really interesting initiatives to see going forward as the transition to clean energy takes place. Yeah, very, very exciting stuff. So we've just got a few minutes left here. Let's see, we've done carpenters, electricians, oh, computer scientists. We're getting, you know, this is really gonna be intricate stuff where we're, Hawaiian Electric and the other utilities are drawing power from individual homes that are producing. And they're using that power as they need it just second by second. And that's gonna require some really, really intricate knowledge and skills. So how about computer science, things like that to get going on that way? Yeah, it's part of our HANA Career Pathways project as well as the new Resilient Hawaii Good Jobs Challenge initiative. We will be partnered with the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii as a convener for the technology sector. And so our local employers in the technology sector that need computer scientists, programmers, analysts, technicians, you know, the full gamut of occupational needs will again be able to have that input through Chamber of Commerce Hawaii's convening and be able to design, you know, what are those jobs of the future? You know, there's certainly needs now in the IT sector for local jobs. And the pathways to those, you know, may require having on the job training, are there apprenticeship opportunities that could be developed in the technology sector so that our young people can learn from, you know, seasoned professionals and not have to leave the islands to get that kind of education. So it's exciting to see how we can, you know, develop our local capacity for technology, skills, education and career pathways and, you know, keep our young people in the islands to share all of the, you know, human capital and the capacity that we have to problem solve with clean energy, you know, is gonna be one of our key activities. You know, this reminds me of young people who want to become doctors. They just don't get their degree and march off to a hospital room and start operating. They have to go through their internship and their residency. And it sounds like you are promoting a version of the same thing. You become more and more and more skilled under the mentorship of people who are in the field. I think that's absolutely one of the opportunities. And, you know, University of Hawaii participates in the P20 partnership, which is really looking at educational pathways from, you know, preschool all the way to post-secondary. So partnering with our local high schools into the community colleges and the four-year universities, you know, that's the pathway approach so that we can help students find their passion, you know, make an informed decision about what education they would like to pursue and then be able to provide that locally through all of our collaborative resources between the colleges as well as our workforce and industry partners. That is exciting stuff, doctor. You know, when I was a kid, maybe even when you at your youth, or you were a kid, it was kind of assumed that we were headed for college and we have since learned the hard way that not everybody is headed for college. And if you can make this plane to even middle school students, you know, maybe you want to go over in this direction and here's, get a little taste of this, get a little taste of that. Find out what instills your passion and sounds like you're doing exactly that. Yeah, I think there's so many diverse experiences available for our local students, you know, exploring apprenticeship opportunities, you know, looking at an internship as a way to explore if that's the right career pathway for you, earning a, you know, a fast track industry certification that can immediately give you some qualifications to pursue a career. And then always knowing that you have that option to come back to college or come to college and pursue the degree that's also gonna help you advance and increase your living wage, you know, capacity. You know, for me, it's all about sharing those opportunities with our students and making our resources easy to find and easy to share. So I'd like to also direct people to our website if we could bring up our final slide as a way to explore the trainings that we do have available through the Hanukkaher Pathways Project, uhcc.hawaii.edu slash training. We'll get you right to the different trainings that we do have available. So for example, the carpenter pre-apprenticeship program that's offered starting this October at Honolulu Community College as well as many other trainings like IT that I mentioned as well. So welcome people to explore that website and also reach out to me if they have any follow-up questions, have my email and contact information here. Wow, that is totally, totally wonderful. Looking back at my high school experience, I wish that I and my high school buddies had this type of a choice. That's just really, really good news, doctor. And we have come to a close. We must bid fond adieu. Howard Wigg, Code Green, Think Tech, Hawaii. Doctor Nicolette Vander Lee, thank you so much. You are just making Hawaii a wonderful, wonderful place. So we need to bid fond aloha to all. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please like us and click the subscribe button on YouTube and the follow button on Vimeo. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn and donate to us at thinktechhawaii.com. Mahalo.