They may have to switch careers and undergo retraining, but the bulk of Aloha Airlines' 1,900 employees should be able to find good-paying jobs and maintain similar lifestyles in the Islands, workforce experts and human resource managers said.

Employers yesterday were trying to find out how to tap into the suddenly idled Aloha Airlines workforce that lost jobs with the company's sudden shutdown, said Beth Busch, executive director of Hawai'i's largest job fair, which will be held May 21.

"I've got employers today asking how they can get access to these Aloha employees," Busch said. "All of these 1,900 people — with the possible exception of the pilots — can easily find work. Not just jobs, but good jobs. And at their same salaries or sometimes better."

Aloha pilots, who earn as much as $10,000 per month, have said they will have to start at the bottom of the pay scale if they switch airlines. For them, it will be difficult to maintain their same standard of living in the Islands if they remain as commercial airline pilots, Busch said.

But for many other Aloha workers, prospective employers have been calling the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations asking, "How do we get a hold of these people?'" said James Hardway, spokesman for the labor department.

They include banks, insurance companies, hospitals and all kinds of industries — especially those in need of good customer service.

First Hawaiian Bank is working with Mayor Mufi Hannemann's office in sponsoring a job fair on April 9 at the Neal Blaisdell Center exhibition hall for Aloha employees.

"First Hawaiian Bank is always looking for potential employees that have a spirit of customer service, and the employees of Aloha Airlines certainly have demonstrated that they have that spirit," said Don Horner, First Hawaiian's president and CEO.

CURRENT OPENINGS

Hawai'i led the country with the lowest unemployment rate of under 3 percent more than a year ago, "and the complaint from employers was that the available labor pool was unskilled and unmotivated, not the kind of workers that employers are looking for," Hardway said. "But with Aloha, they're highly skilled, highly motivated. They know customer service. They have many of the basic building blocks of what an employer is looking for."

Molokai Ranch's nearly 120 workers who will lose their jobs, on the other hand, will have a much harder time finding comparable work on Moloka'i, Hardway said. The cost of commuting to work on Maui or O'ahu is certain to cut deeply into their salaries, he said.

Hertz Corp. thinks it has openings that could easily be filled by some Aloha workers.

The company recently laid off workers but still needs to find a total of 10 counter sales representatives across the state.

Asked if Aloha reservation agents would make a good fit for Hertz, human resource manager Karie Paguio said, "No doubt. It's all customer service based."

The starting reservation agent pay of $10 an hour is a little less than what comparable workers make at Aloha, Paguio said. And Hertz can't offer flying benefits, she said.

But there are other perks, such as 100 percent family medical plans, discounts on car rentals and sales commissions, Paguio said.

Hertz also has positions for machinists and mechanics and other jobs that might easily translate for Aloha employees, but no current openings, she said.

The key is taking what Aloha employees do best and finding a fit with the 300 openings at Hawai'i Pacific Health, which includes Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children, Straub Clinic & Hospital, Kapi'olani Medical Center at Pali Momi and Wilcox Hospital on Kaua'i, said Carl Hinson, director of workforce development for Hawai'i Pacific Health.

"First and foremost, you're looking for people who can buy into and support the mission," Hinson said. "They've definitely demonstrated the type of loyalty throughout the years that they can support their mission at Aloha."

TRANSFERABLE SKILLS

Some of Hawai'i Pacific Health's openings are for nurses and other jobs needing special training. But about "100 of our current openings would be things we could line up with Aloha for transferable skills," Hinson said.

"They think of hospitals and think all we need is nurses and doctors," Hinson said. "The reality is it takes a whole bunch of people to run a hospital, not unlike running an airline — accountants, finance, customer service, food service, housekeeping."

The people who clean Aloha's jets need to meet infection control standards, not unlike hospital employees, Hinson said. Aloha employees who book flights do similar work like "patient service representatives," who make appointments and get insurance information, he said.

Hawai'i Pacific Health will be at next week's job fair. But Hinson isn't sure that Aloha employees will be ready to start over again in different fields.

"Next week might be a little too soon," he said. "I think they're going through a lot of pain. I don't know if emotionally they're going to be willing to look at serious options. But we're going to give it our best shot."

team to assist airline workers

A "rapid response team" from the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has been activated to help 1,900 Aloha Airlines employees who were laid off yesterday on O'ahu, Maui, Kaua'i and the Big Island.

The team will help the employees with skills assessment, counseling, career planning, employment development, occupational skills training, on-the-job training, entrepreneurial training, job-readiness training, adult education, welfare assistance and medical benefits. Other services include out-of-area job search help, relocation assistance, childcare, transportation help, job-related certifications, uniforms and equipment.

Similar rapid response teams were activated to help workers laid off by Del Monte on O'ahu and Molokai Ranch on Molokai and O'ahu.

Unemployment benefits: $523

Aloha Airlines employees will be eligible for a maximum unemployment benefit of $523 per week for up to 26 weeks.

"These are guys and ladies at the high salary range paying a mortgage," said James Hardway, spokesman for the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. "There's going to be great economic pressure to find another job."

Most Aloha employees lost their health coverage when the company shut down, Hardway said, and will likely go on COBRA, or the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, which is designed to help give families access to group medical insurance.

Others may go on Medicaid or Quest, Hardway said.

The loss of about 120 Molokai Ranch employees from Hawai'i's workforce "doesn't really register much" in reducing the state's approximately $500 million unemployment trust fund, he said.

But with 1,900 Aloha Airlines employees maxing out their 26 weeks of $523 weekly benefits, the fund would drop to about $490 million.

A "worst-case scenario" of losing an additional 1,300 Aloha cargo workers would reduce the fund to $450 million, Hardway said.