Sector Partnerships

info@cochawaii.org | (808) 545-4300

Hawai‘i’s sector partnerships are industry-led, community-supported collaboratives that strengthen local economies and prepare and connect Hawaii’s young people to careers in in-demand industries.

Industry value: a venue to collaborate and strategize on shared priorities and collective action to strengthen their sector; and a coordinated way to access education, workforce and economic development, government, and other key stakeholders all in one place.

Public sector value: opportunities for economic and workforce development, education, government, and other key stakeholders to leverage funds and efforts; collaborate and break down silos; and work with industry in a coordinated way.

The Chamber of Commerce Hawaii is a proud partner of the Good Jobs Hawaii initiative, a workforce and skills-development program to help local residents attain high-quality entry level jobs in healthcare, technology, clean energy and creative industries.

In partnership with the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, the initiative will work with employers to develop new training models and hiring practices, to fill entry-level Healthcare jobs.

Current Sector Partnerships

Engineering, Healthcare and IT

Engineering Sector Partnership

The Engineering Sector Partnership’s mission is to grow Hawaii’s engineering and STEM talent pipeline, connecting Hawaii’s young people to in-demand, local jobs. The K-Career Pathway Project connects industry leaders with educators to create a sequence of work-based learning opportunities for students.

Priorities are:

  • Career Awareness: exposing students to the various career options within the engineering industry
  • Women in STEM: increasing interest in STEM among girls
  • Math Readiness: ensuring students are math-ready for post-secondary upon high school graduation.

Engineering jobs in Hawaii are forecasted to grow by 6% over the next 10 years. More than 70 local engineering companies are actively engaged in the Engineering Sector Partnership, continuing to inspire the next generation of local engineers.

Learn More about the Engineering Sector Partnership

Healthcare Sector Partnership

Healthcare jobs continue to be the most in-demand, well-paying and fulfilling jobs in Hawaii. Leaders, educators and community partners are collaborating to address our state’s healthcare workforce shortage by strengthening Hawaii’s healthcare career pathway.

Priorities are:

  • Career Awareness: increasing opportunities for students to learn about careers in healthcare (workplace visits, classroom speakers, job fairs, career counseling, etc.)
  • Training and Transitions to Employment: expanding opportunities for students to gain work experience and training to prepare them for fulfilling healthcare careers
  • Curriculum Support: increasing curriculum guidance and training opportunities for teachers across all healthcare pathways of study to support schools and allow for expanded course offerings
Learn More about the Healthcare Sector Partnership

IT Sector Partnership

Leaders from technology, the defense sector, banking, healthcare and more are collaborating to build Hawaii’s IT workforce. Their goal is to ensure every local IT job has a qualified local candidate. Using the recent IT Workforce Needs Analysis as a springboard, this employer collaborative will take collective action to support career awareness activities for middle school and high school students, the development of training programs for college students and new graduates, and increased alignment between employers and educators.

The IT Sector Partnership will take collective action with the following priorities:

  • Career Awareness: increasing opportunities for students to learn about careers in IT
  • Training and Transitions to Employment: expanding opportunities for students to gain work experience and training to prepare them for fulfilling IT careers
  • Curriculum Support: increasing curriculum guidance and training opportunities for teachers across all IT pathways of study to support schools and allow for expanded course offerings
Learn More about the IT Sector Partnership

Other Sector Initiatives

ClimbHI Bridge   

Developed to convene community support to sustain education and culture for students through real-life exposure, ClimbHI Bridge is an online portal that connects businesses, educators and students. Industry representatives can participate in Advisory Boards, Job Readiness Activities, Guest Speaking, Mentorship, and more!

To sign up or login visit www.bridge.climbhi.org/login.

 

IT Workforce Needs Analysis

The IT Workforce Needs Analysis aims to understand the current and future information technology (IT) workforce needs of Hawaii companies. It compares IT workforce supply and demand and looks at the fastest growing IT occupations, and skills and credentials that Hawai‘i employers seek. Using the insights of local employers and labor market data, the report also provides recommendations to ensure our state has a local, highly trained IT talent pipeline to support this growing sector.

 

Hear From Our Members

NEWS & EVENTS

Engineers Week 2022 exposes over 500 students to a career in engineering!

Offered in partnership with STEMworks, University of Hawai’i College of Engineering, and our partner DOE schools, Engineers Week included six Engineering Field Day events, a Virtual Parent & Guardian Night, UH Engineering Career Fairs, STEMworks Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, and engineering Mock Job Interviews. In total, 518 students from grades 3-12 engaged with 33 local engineers from 19 engineering companies. Students were exposed to exciting STEM activities and learned about Hawaii-based career options that are forecasted to be in-demand in the future. Watch our recap video here!

Healthcare Sector to Launch K-Career Pathway Project in Partnership with Healthcare Association of Hawaii

The Healthcare Sector Partnership restructured in 2022 and launched their very own K-Career Pathway project designed to help students advance along the healthcare pathway into in-demand jobs in Hawaii. Stay tuned – more details forthcoming on upcoming meeting dates and opportunities to get involved!

Hawai‘i Sector Partnerships are supported by generous support from the State of Hawaii Department of Labor Relations, Kamehameha Schools and Stupski Foundation.

To get in touch directly, please contact:
Keala Peters EVP, Education & Workforce Development  and Executive Director, Sector Partnerships, Chamber of Commerce Hawaii
Email: kpeters@cochawaii.org Phone: (808) 380-2612

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