Nonprofit organizations, the private sector and government have joined together to launch a program using federal CARES Act funding that will support Hawaii’s economy by providing businesses with up to 650 workers who have been displaced in the current economic crisis.
The economic stimulus program is supported by $10 million in federal CARES Act funding that was secured with the help of Hawaii’s Congressional delegation and disbursed locally through an appropriation by the Hawaii State Legislature.
The Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) worked with all the partners to pull the program together. DBEDT contracted with Kupu, a conservation and youth education nonprofit, and Economic Development Alliance of Hawaii (EDAH), an economic development nonprofit, to implement this workforce development initiative. There will be two tracks to this program: “Kupu Aina Corps” run by Kupu and “Aloha Connects Innovation” run by EDAH.
The program will match displaced workers with companies in emerging industries and Aloha+ Challenge sectors such as conservation, renewable energy, agriculture, creative arts, aerospace, entrepreneurship, and STEM fields. The Aloha+ Challenge is a statewide commitment to achieve Hawaii’s sustainability goals, and locally driven framework to implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The initiative, originally envisioned by Omar Sultan of Sultan Ventures, aims to diversify and strengthen Hawaii’s economy by building a scalable workforce to support the growth of emerging and resilient non-tourism industries. The program will create internship opportunities to provide temporary employment required due to economic injury caused by COVID-19 related business closures, while meaningfully diversifying and strengthening Hawaii’s economy.
The programs’ positions will offer:
2-1/2 to 3 months of on-the-job training (to December 15)
Wages starting at $13-$15 an hour
Health care benefits
Introduction and mentoring within the emerging, innovation sectors
Workforce training
Ideally, after the on-the-job training, individuals will be hired at the sites they are placed at or within the network of their organization, pursue careers in the emerging, innovation sector, or continue with higher education
Eligible Participants:
Displaced workers
Recent college graduates
Recent high school graduates
Due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, many tourism-related jobs will likely not be available through 2020. Hawaii’s heavy reliance on tourism means that the local economy will lag behind the national pace of the recovery process, according to DBEDT’s Research and Economic Analysis Division.
Interested participant applicants and companies interested in hosting participants can apply for the innovation track through Economic Development Alliance of Hawaii’s website at www.edahawaii.org and the conservation track through Kupu’s website at www.kupuhawaii.org/ainainnovation.
