Futurist urges state to build workforce

By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer

Communities unable to adapt to workforce needs of the future face lower incomes as high-growth, high-wage industries locate elsewhere.

To identify and meet those demands, communities first need to decide which industries they want to grow, futurist Ed Barlow said during a breakfast meeting in Honolulu yesterday.

For Hawai'i, areas of opportunity include biotechnology, oceanography and information technology, Barlow said.

Meeting the labor needs of these sectors will require closer cooperation between businesses, government and the educational system, said Barlow, who is based in St. Joseph, Mich.

The workers of the future will be found in three ways, according to the futurist.

"You're going to have to grow them. You're going to have to recruit them, and you're going to have to retain them," Barlow said. "You can't grow the economy the way you want to without a competitive workforce."

That task will be made difficult by trends such as increased global competition, as knowledge-based science and technology jobs join manufacturing jobs in the migration from the United States to lower-wage areas such as China, he said.

Add to that the fast-paced nature of industry, where knowledge becomes obsolete faster than at any time in history, and the challenge of building a competitive workforce is greater still, Barlow said.

However, Hawai'i has advantages over other states when it comes to recruiting workers, including a large tourism industry that draws 6.4 million of visitors each year. The state should build on targeted industries through its tourism base by marketing Hawai'i as a business and retirement destination to every visitor, Barlow said.

To retain workers, the state needs to recognize the lifestyle and low-cost housing needs of younger residents apt to move to the Mainland after high school.

In addition to stopping the so-called brain drain, Hawai'i's educational system needs to do a better job of getting students into one- and two-year post-high school training programs, Barlow said, noting that many jobs of the future will not require four-year college degrees.

As for workers who lose their jobs, federal and state job-training money can be better spent by focusing on filling industry needs rather than just finding people jobs.

"Economic development and workforce development have to partner if we are going to have that competitive workforce," Barlow said. "You're going to have to work as hard as everybody else if you're going to get your piece of the pie."

Reach Sean Hao at 525-8093 or shao@honoluluadvertiser.com.