By Paul Drewes

WASHINGTON (Island News) — Hawaii on the Hill just wrapped up in Washington D.C., which showcased island products and gave local business owners a chance to talk politics with national lawmakers.

“Hawaii on the Hill is all about showcasing the products and services Hawaii has to offer and how it contributes to our nations economy,” said Sherry Menor, President and CEO Chamber of Commerce Hawaii.

The biggest event of the four day program is Taste on the Hill, which showcases both large and small island business products.

But there are also opportunities for local business owners to meet lawmakers.

“Our businesses were able to interact with Congressional leaders and tell them how laws that are being discussed on the federal level are having an impact on the local level,” stated Menor.

That includes topics like tariffs, and what legislation local businesses need to survive.

“Hawaii is already a challenging place to do business, on top of local regulations they have federal regulations. It is about finding incentives to ensure small businesses can keep their doors open,” added Menor.

One of the things many Hawaii businesses need are more skilled workers.

A fairly new event at Hawaii on the Hill works to bring more local worker back to the islands.

“Our aim is to re-engage former Hawaii residents with opportunities in Hawaii. We are starting with the engineering sector, but plan to expand it to all sectors in Hawaii,” said McKenna Dale, Chamber of Commerce Manager of Workforce Development.

The Kama’aina Come Home program connects mainland workers with local businesses that are hiring.

Especially island companies who may have trouble finding and keeping skilled workers from other states.

“We see a want to re-engage local folks who have gone to college or are building career on the continent to come back. Those who embody Hawaii values and they trust them to stay for a long time. Because with some of the transplanted workers, we see shorter term employment in Hawaii,” stated Dale,

The program can even connect college students on the mainland to summer internships here, which can give them a taste of what working in Hawaii can be like.

“Students in college having internships in the summer, they are able to visit family and see the business climate. Then transition home with a local company that can give them that career for a lifetime,” added Dale.

She said there is definite interest, as 75 people came out for this year’s Kama’aina Come Home event.

While annual efforts are starting to pay off, as a local engineer, working in California was recently hired to come back home to a local firm.

Watch the segment here.