ISLAND VOICES
A workforce for our future

By E. Micheal Boughton

E. Micheal Boughton is chairman of the Hawaii Workforce Development Council.

There are many programs working to train Hawai'i's workforce, but one in particular focuses on the future of the state's workforce.

The governor's Workforce Development Council is composed of 31 public and private sector representatives who track over $100 million in federal and state-funded training programs. The goal of the council is to build a first-rate workforce. The council's partners in this effort are workforce and economic development agencies around the state, the education system, the business community and policymakers.

Here is an overview of the basic challenges facing workforce development and what the council and its partners are doing to meet those challenges.

• Hawai'i's industry base is changing. Tourism is no longer the consistent, high-powered driver of our economy it once was. The military sector remains stable while sugar and pineapple industries have shrunk to minor roles. Growth industries in almost all sectors are knowledge-based and technology-driven. One consequence has been fewer job opportunities for less-skilled workers in tourism-related services while industries like information technology are reporting shortages in key skills.

• Hawai'i's needs are changing. Our markets have become more global, competitive and entrepreneurial. Companies must respond faster, and this requires a flexible workforce.

• Members of our baby-boom population are starting to retire. This, and a rising demand for health and age-related services, will soon strain the supply of labor in Hawai'i and elsewhere.

• We are losing some of our best and brightest to the Mainland.

• Many of our youth are not well-prepared to enter the workforce. They seek a wider range and depth of educational, team-working and problem-solving skills essential to business in the 21st century. There is little training of potential entrepreneurs among our youth.

Working with its partners, the council has embarked on an effort to address these and other challenges and to help develop a first-rate workforce for Hawai'i. Here's what we are doing:

• A strategic workforce development plan is being prepared. This effort is in concert with the goals of the new administration and legislative support through Senate Bill 837, passed by the Legislature this year.

• Youth workforce strategies. The partnership will focus on providing more permanent and rewarding opportunities for Hawai'i's youth. This means better school preparation and better career planning and workplace experiences for in-school youth. We will also recruit Hawai'i's youth back from the Mainland and working to channel school dropouts into career paths.

• Skill standards and entrepreneurship. Traditional and emerging industries need to work with education to identify and implement skills that can be taught in school. Entrepreneurship training at the high school and community college levels is an opportunity to build a cadre of future entrepreneurs.

• Increased labor participation. As the baby-boom generation leaves the labor force, the smaller generations that follow will be hard-pressed to fill the gap. We need to better mine the wealth of underutilized labor resources — immigrants, women, retirees and those with disabilities. It is also crucial that we cut the loss of potential workforce members to the wastelands of prison and disabling addictions.

• Incumbent worker training. About 75 percent of the future workforce is already on the job, but their skills may well become obsolete in a few years. For Hawai'i to remain competitive, we need to identify emerging skills and find affordable ways for current workers to upgrade their skills quickly.

• Accountability. Finally, taxpayers and policymakers deserve to know what they are getting for their workforce investment. The council and its partners are developing measures of efficiency and effectiveness to ensure public confidence in the workforce development system.

The council recently presented a status report to the governor about workforce development. This report may be found online at www.hawaiiworkforce.org.

We welcome thoughts and suggestions by the community on those opportunities. You may contact us at 586-8670 or e-mail at workforcc001@hawaii.rr.com.