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: John Leong

What is your organization doing to ensure workforce development honors community and ʻāina rather than simply filling jobs?

At Kupu, we provide workforce development in ʻāina-based industries through hands-on service. We drive systems change to place youth in circumstances that unlock their potential within and outside of traditional education systems, by connecting them with ʻāina or preparing them for sustainability careers while supporting a plethora of partners. 

Since 2007, a large part of our work has been providing opportunities for youth to gain enriching and affirming experiences in caring for ʻāina and community. As we have grown as an organization, so has the breadth of the roles. Our members are able to serve in our natural resources as well as in professional and educational settings across the Pacific that support and make conservation work possible in the field. At our popular Hoʻokupu Center, we also prepare under-resourced youth for the workforce by providing life skills training, green job and education opportunities. For example, we provide resources to work toward high school diplomas or equivalencies and workforce development through our culinary and events program.  

Our innovative partnership with the Department of Education has helped us to award hundreds of diplomas. To date, we’ve employed about 7,000 young adults through our programs and see many today in related fields. In fact, 80% of alumni shared that they go on to higher education or a career in a related field. 

Kupu also supports about 120-150 partner organizations throughout the state and Pacific region, including grassroots organizations, government agencies like the Department of Land and Natural Resources, farms, and energy providers. Not only does Kupu support reducing the cost of their operations by providing members, but we’ve also helped to create pathways for them to employ Kupu alumni to increase succession with people they love working with. 

Kupu is also helping to support capacity building with our partners and also advocates for funding. In partnership with the Weinberg Foundation and Stupski Foundation, Kupu built a program around a $20 million grant from the U.S. Forest Service to award these funds to partner organizations over the next few years to support tree planting and workforce development. 

What have you learned about developing people and talent through your own work?

I have been blessed to work with so many amazing people throughout my time as a co-founder of Kupu, Pono Pacific, and Poukihi. Collectively, we employ 300 - 400 people annually. The lesson that has shown up time and time again is the benefit of caring for and investing in people. Not only is that a cornerstone of our mission at Kupu’s workforce programs for our members and our partner sites, but it’s a large part of the engine that allowed our organization to grow from a scrappy start-up in 2007 to an established nonprofit with a track record of success, a strong network of alumni in conservation careers, and a continually evolving list of positions throughout the U.S. Pacific Islands. As an employer, our job is to cultivate the soil to allow our people to thrive and work together and across organizations to create positive impact.