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Hiapo Workforce Development

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Empowering Hawaiʻi's Tech Workforce!

The Hiapo Workforce Development program is specifically designed to address the critical workforce needs of Native Hawaiians and other underserved communities who are unemployed, underemployed, not in education, or lack the adequate resources to access technical skills training and career development.

According to the most recent ALICE Report (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed), the number of Hawaiʻi households that are struggling to make ends meet hit a new high in 2022, at 44% (an increase of 2% from 2018). 

Many Hawaiʻi residents work in low-wage service jobs and spend about 42% of their income on rent, which is the highest of any state. The high cost of living continues to force more Native Hawaiians out of Hawaiʻi. Estimates from the American Community Survey showed that in 2021, there were more Native Hawaiians living outside Hawaiʻi (370,000) than in Hawaiʻi (309,800).

Training Programs

Our training programs are designed to provide job training and career development that is relevant and in-demand, allowing participants to gain new skills, earn industry standard certifications, and access to higher paying jobs.

Salesforce

Salesforce is a leading cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) platform designed to help businesses manage their relationships and interactions with customers, prospects, partners, and employees more effectively.

PeopleSoft

PeoplesSoft is a comprehensive software application for various business processes, including human resources management, financial management, student administration, customer relationship management, and more.

Digital Transitions

Digital Transitions is a training program that gives incarcerated women a comprehensive curriculum of essential skills for entry into higher-paying careers.

Food+

Food+ is a work-based learning internship that gives college students a crash course in civic engagement, data science, and online and offline outreach tools through work in food systems advocacy in Hawaiʻi.

The Hiapo Team

Victor Lee

Victor Lee

Program Director

Corina Price

Certified Scrum Master + Salesforce Administrator
Su Lazo

Su Lazo

Director of Career Development