The University of Hawaii and the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, in partnership with participating employers, are planning to launch Leap-Start, an IT training program to provide students with on-the-job experience.
Through Leap-Start, UH will provide employment and trainee employment for student participants, and participating Hawaii employers will provide temporary job opportunities and may opt to directly hire program participants at any point in the process. Student participants will participate in the state's IT workforce while gaining practical experience and developing professional skills that improve their marketability for future IT jobs.
Through the partnership, the Chamber will engage employer participants across the state, while UH officials work to create the mechanisms to engage with employers and program participants and launch the program.
“Preparing local residents to fill in-demand jobs in IT, data science, cyber and cloud computing will require engagement by Hawaii’s business community," said Chamber President and CEO Sherry Menor-McNamara, in a statement. "We look forward to helping to bridge business with education, working together to provide the training, preparation and mentoring students and new graduates need to successfully compete for jobs."
A coalition of stakeholders will be kicking off new efforts related to the project on Wednesday with a presentation on “Building Hawaii’s IT Workforce of the Future."
"The University of Hawaii is committed to prepare our students with the essential technology and professional skills to effectively compete for living wage jobs, and to contribute to the growth, resilience and security of Hawaiiʻs business, health care, energy and agricultural sectors,” said Garret Yoshimi, UH vice president for IT and chief information officer, in a statement. “The need for a highly skilled IT workforce in Hawaii has never been greater and we are perfectly positioned, together with the community of Hawai‘i employers to educate and effectively prepare our residents for these high paying jobs of the future.”
In addition to UH and the Chamber, stakeholders include the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, the Hawaii State Legislature, TRUE, Hawaii Technology Development Corporation, Hawaii Defense Alliance, CIO Council and CyberHawaii. The presentation is free and open to the public, and interested attendees can register here.
UH and the Chamber teamed up to create the program after the results of a recent study — the IT Workforce Needs Analysis — found that demand for IT employees in Hawaii exceeds the number of available IT job seekers, and that more training programs are needed for Hawaii's IT workforce.
“As a Hawaii employer, we need to hire skilled technology professionals and expect that this need will continue to grow over the next few years as technology becomes more prevalent throughout all industries,” said Pacxa President Kelly Ueoka in a statement. “We would like to see local candidates successfully compete for these jobs and believe training programs are an important component to job readiness and skills development.
"We look forward to working collaboratively with other employers, educators and community partners like the Chamber of Commerce and the University of Hawaii to provide training opportunities to local residents.”
Employers wishing to partner with the program in building Hawaii’s technology talent pipeline can take a survey here.
