Hwfc in the UH news!
🤝 Collaborative Spotlight: UH & HWFC Take Bold Steps on Workforce Resilience
We’re proud to share a powerful example of cross-sector collaboration that brings much-needed attention to the future of Hawaiʻi’s workforce.
In partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi, the Hawaiʻi Workforce Funders Collaborative (HWFC) presented key findings from the report: From Crisis to Opportunity: Building Hawaiʻi’s Workforce Resilience—recently featured in UH News.
📌 According to the data curated by HWFC, nearly 30% of Hawaiʻi’s 170,000 youth entering the workforce over the next decade face limited access to good jobs if urgent action isn’t taken. HWFC Executive Director Matt Stevens emphasized the need for bold, systemwide strategies:
“There aren’t going to be enough good jobs, and the education pathways we have aren’t necessarily leading to jobs that pay enough to survive. If we don’t create bold, strategic actions together as a system, we really do risk losing the next generation of workers before their careers even begin.”
🎓 Higher Education Strategies for Workforce Resilience
The report outlines several actionable recommendations for Hawaiʻi’s higher education institutions to play a pivotal role in shaping an equitable workforce:
Expand access to stackable credentials and microcredential programs
Improve career counseling and align curricula with high-growth industries such as healthcare, clean energy, and tech
Strengthen employer partnerships and incorporate real-time data into program design
Redesign on-campus jobs to include mentorship and skill-building opportunities
Christine Beaule, UH Director of Workforce Development, underscored the importance of this cross-sector alignment:
“There’s a big collaborative effort to align our initiatives and adopt best practices in our state to see if we can actually make some measurable progress on workforce development goals.”
Be part of this collective effort—reach out to connect with us, co-host a stakeholder meeting, sign up for our FREE workforce webinars, and subscribe to our newsletter to stay involved and up-to-date on workforce initiatives.
