Across our community, Fellows are doing the hard, hopeful work of helping people build lives and careers right here in Hawaiʻi. In our latest issue of Taking on Tomorrow, we asked several of them to share what workforce development looks like and this is what they had to share.

By: Alex Harris

What is your organization doing to help create meaningful career pathways that allow people to build a life in Hawaiʻi?

Each year, the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation invests roughly $3 million to help young people live, work, and thrive here in Hawaiʻi. We fund sector partnerships that bring together employers and educators in high growth industries such as healthcare, clean energy, and skilled trades. We test new models like the Hawaiʻi Renewable Learning Fund that provides zero-interest, zero-cost loans that help UH students complete degrees in nursing and engineering, or youth apprenticeship programs in new areas like maritime jobs and creative industries. And we commission research on large public training efforts such as GoodJobsHI that upskill more than 3,000 residents, helping find them new jobs with an average of $7,000 wage growth. We are only as successful as the grantee partners we work alongside and none of this work happens without their leadership and vision.