More than 80 Hawaii County residents have taken advantage of a new workforce development program being offered at Hawaii Community College.
The Good Jobs Hawaii initiative, a statewide University of Hawaii program launched at the beginning of the year, offers free job training courses that provide skills and industry credentials for in-demand professions throughout the state.
“We have four key sectors that we’re focusing on,” said Dan Doerger, director of workforce innovation at UH Community Colleges, citing health care, technology, clean energy and creative industries.
“Since we’ve launched, we’ve had more than 900 people enroll in the trainings” statewide, Doerger said. “More than half of those people have completed the trainings already.”
Over 300 companies and local businesses also have participated statewide.
“We’re trying to get people into high-demand, good-paying jobs,” Doerger said. “There’s a financial incentive to the employers to hire the people coming out of Good Jobs Hawaii, whether it be for an internship or a full-time job.”
This year’s HCC program is funded by more than $3 million from the U.S. Department of Education.
“In total, with all of the grants we have, it’s about $35 million,” Doerger said of the statewide numbers, adding that roughly $15 million of the pandemic-related funds have been spent so far. “There’s a handful of new things that we’re offering (at HCC) that are only going to be offered for the next year, but those main four sectors will live for the entire length of the grant, which is through 2025.”
Being offered for the first time this year are Homeland Security and Criminal Justice Addictions Professional certificate programs.
Participants will receive a certificate of competence and review core foundations related to substance abuse counseling, the correctional process, intelligence analysis and security management, among other program requirements.
But the most popular field remains health care, which accounts for roughly 60% of all program participants.
Those in the program will have the ability to choose from several health care career pathways, including for certified nurse aides, medical assistants, phlebotomy technicians, medical receptionists, patient services specialists and registered behavioral technicians.
The program also provides a pathway for current certified nurse aides, or CNAs, to become licensed practical nurses, or LPNs.
“With the recent earn-and-learn glide path for CNAs to become LPNs, our nurses can continue to work while in school, enabling them to provide for their families while advancing their career to earn a living wage,” Ohana Pacific Health CEO Wesley Lo said in a statement. “We’re grateful for this collaboration and the Good Jobs initiative that supports employers by directly addressing staffing.”
Eligible participants receive tuition assistance for all courses which covers additional training costs, including books and industry certification exams.
“There are no out-of-pocket expenses at all,” Doerger said of the program. “It’s not like the participants have to pay and then get reimbursed. Everything is handled for them on our end.”
Participants also are paired up with navigators, who serve as counselors to help enroll in the program and also secure employment afterward.
“The reason it works as well as it does, is we have a dedicated team of navigators,” Doerger said. “They make sure they get enrolled, they show up on the first day with everything they need to be successful, that they sign up to take the certifications if that’s part of the training, that they successfully complete the classes, and finally that there’s a connection to the employer.”
More information about the program and how to enroll can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/3exajae9.
“Since its founding in 1941, Hawaii Community College has a proud history of educating the local workforce for the benefit of residents and employers,” HCC Interim Chancellor Susan Kazama said in a statement. “The Good Jobs Hawaii initiative is a new, innovative way to provide free training that can quickly boost skills and help local residents establish thriving careers.”
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.