Vision:            A globally competitive and skilled workforce that promotes and nurtures a diverse and prosperous economy and preserves the special quality of life in Hawaii.

 

Mission:         Develop a skilled workforce that meets the needs of business and industry, enhances workplace productivity, and increases opportunities for high wage employment and entrepreneurship.

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Goal I:      Align the economic, education, and employment communities into a comprehensive and coordinated network.

 

Objective A:  Coordinate resources effectively and efficiently.

 

Objective B:  Provide comprehensive information to implementers of workforce development policies.

 

 

Goal II:     Provide all people the opportunity to acquire and maintain skills, attitudes and behaviors necessary to be a part of the competitive workforce and to be self-sufficient.

 

Objective A:  Improve basic skills and qualifications of all job seekers and workers.

 

Objective B: Increase participation of targeted underrepresented populations in education, training, employment, and career advancement.

 

Objective C:  Increase qualified labor supply for targeted industries for a diversified statewide economy.

 

 

Goal III:   Improve the incentives and commitment for businesses to increase innovation and productivity of their work places.

 

Objective A:  Promote incentives for employers who develop competitive workforce skills and maximize innovations of workplace cultures.

 

Objective B:  Recognize business’ workforce models that achieve successful business outcomes.

 

 

 

Goal I:      Align the economic, education, and employment communities into a comprehensive and coordinated network.

 

Objective A:  Coordinate resources effectively and efficiently.

Priority Actions:

 

1.   Assure statewide delivery of Workforce Investment Act (WIA) services

·        Consider sustainability of each designated local area.

·        Simplify procedures to achieve more efficient use of resources and time.

 

2.   Improve One-Stop Centers

·        Provide statewide branding for the public’s easy identification of One-Stops.

·        Identify where resources should be redirected for greater effectiveness and return on investment

·        Monitor substantive Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), responsiveness of One-Stops, and service coordination.

·        Provide sample RFPs that require/give more points for collaborative delivery of services.

·        Provide One-Stop guidelines to require collaborative delivery of services.

·        Reward local areas that strengthen interagency coordination in serving clients.

·        Convene state partners to negotiate state MOA to sustain One-Stops.

·        Provide best practices for One-Stop business services.

 

3.   Review and comment on entities’ plans for alignment with the Workforce Development Strategic Plan’s goals, objectives, and priorities.

 

4.   Address all issues that support workforce development and economic health; that is, the cost of health care, adequate housing, litigation costs, quality of schools, self-sustaining wages, effect of substance abuse on learning and work performance, engagement of populations that are marginally participating in the workforce, child care, parenting education, family literacy, transportation.

 

Indicators:

1.      WIA performance measures that are met or exceeded.

 

2.      Number of entities that signed substantive MOUs to more effectively deliver workforce development programs.

 

3.      Number of identified services and funding streams that coordinate their activities.

 

4.   Decreased number of identified service gaps in the workforce development system.

 

5.   Reduced identified service duplications in the workforce development system.

 

6.   Increased number of One-Stop employer customers (by 1% per year?).

Goal I:  Align the economic, education, and employment communities into a comprehensive and coordinated network.

 

Objective B:  Provide comprehensive information to implementers of workforce development policies.

 

Priority Actions:

 

1.      Establish comprehensive electronic links to information and analysis on labor demand, labor supply, occupational trends, technological advances, declining industries, demographic shifts, workplace configurations, regional (Asia-Pacific) and global economic opportunities, global and futuristic trends, state plans, city, state, and federal resources, employers’ and businesses’ workforce needs throughout the state.

 

2.      Improve communication.

 

 

Indicators:

 

1.      Increased percent of stakeholders who rate the information system as:

 

a.       Easy to use

 

b.      Capturing needed data

 

c.       Disseminating needed data

 

d.      Satisfactory to users

 

2.      Number of participants’ comments and requests that lead to system modifications, improvements, and adaptations.

 


Goal II:     Provide all people the opportunity to acquire and maintain the skills, attitudes and behaviors necessary to be a part of the competitive workforce and to be self-sufficient.

 

Objective A:  Improve basic skills and qualifications of all job seekers and workers.

Priority Actions:

 

1.      Guide and support people into education and training, and direct resources so they can have living wage jobs; prepare children to enter the jobs of the future.

·        Embed career awareness, exploration and experiences in early childhood education, school curricula and One-Stop services.  Endorse Education’s six career pathways and employ them as appropriate in workforce development strategies.

·        Raise public awareness of the importance of education and continuous learning

·        Welcome youth participation in decision-making

·        Increase business internships, mentorships, and projects for students

·        Make it a school requirement for middle and high school students to prepare and use education and transition plans for life after high school

·        Increase the amount of financial aid available to support low-income students’ education and training beyond high school

·        Provide effective remediation to support under-prepared students as they pursue more education and training

·        Provide adequate student support and academic support services at the post-secondary levels to increase student persistence and rates of graduation

 

2.   Make training accessible for people, including incumbent workers.

·        Provide training in modules, open entry, open exit, on work-site

·        Provide distance learning

·        Leverage resources to make it possible for participants to complete the training.  Address barriers:  school, family, health, housing, transportation, work, domestic violence

 

3.   Improve K-12 student performance.

 

4.   Prevent K-12 school dropouts.

 

5.   Clearly identify, teach and document student learning results of SCANS skills.

 

6.   Solve teacher shortages by honoring the credentials of people qualified in subject areas; e.g., hire professionals with degrees in a subject if they want to become full-time teachers; employers release employees to teach part-time.

 

7.   Coordinate youth services that support education and address multiple employment and learning barriers.

 

 

Goal II:  Provide all people the opportunity to acquire and maintain skills, attitudes and behaviors necessary to be a part of the competitive workforce and to be self-sufficient.

 

Objective A:  Improve basic skills and qualifications of all job seekers and workers.

 

Indicators:

 

1.      Percent of high school students who receive documentation that they have satisfactory workforce skills and qualities that are universally required (SCANS).

 

2.      Percent of adult education students who receive documentation that they have satisfactory SCANS skills.

 

3.      Percent of employers satisfied with their workers' basic skills and qualifications.

 

4.      Percent of employers satisfied with job seekers' basic skills and qualifications.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Objective B:  Increase participation of targeted underrepresented populations in education, training, employment, and career advancement.

 

Priority Actions:

 

1.      Identify targeted populations for special attention and develop means and strategies for overcoming barriers and increasing their participation.

 

2.      Increase accessibility to One-Stops for special populations.

 

Indicators:

 

1.      Percent, indexed by the unemployment rate, of each targeted population achieving employment and self-sufficiency.

 

2.      Percent of each targeted population participating in education and training.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goal II:  Provide all people the opportunity to acquire and maintain skills, attitudes and behaviors necessary to be a part of the competitive workforce and to be self-sufficient.

 

Objective C:  Increase qualified labor supply for targeted industry clusters for a diversified statewide economy.

 

Priority Actions:

 

1.   Define and agree on industry clusters to be targeted.

·        Governor/Mayors/WIBs/Business leadership adopt clusters as priorities

·        Use Industry “dashboard” and results of various employer assessments to recommend how resources can be invested to prepare and update the workforce for the state’s economic vision

 

2.   Identify skills standards, educational levels, gaps for each industry cluster.

 

3.   Focus timely education and training initiatives for the preparation of current workers and secondary and post-secondary graduates that match new economic opportunities in the state.

 

4.   Maintain updated skills standards.

 

5.   Develop and lead a public/private recruitment and rapid action team to respond to new companies locating in Hawaii and/or companies expanding their workforce.

 

6.   Provide pathway from Community Colleges’ associate degrees in applied science and technology to 4-year bachelor’s degrees in applied science.

 

Indicators:

 

1.      Ratio of qualified job seekers to the total number of job openings, by occupation, in targeted industry clusters.

 

2.      Percent of new jobs in targeted industry clusters filled by local labor supply.

 


Goal III.   Improve the incentives and commitment for businesses to increase innovation and productivity of their work places.

 

Objective A:  Promote incentives for employers who develop competitive workforce skills and maximize innovations of workplace cultures.

 

Priority Actions:

1.   Inform private sector employers about the various sources of workforce assistance.

 

2.   Facilitate access to workforce resources for employers and employees.

 

3.   Use the survey results of the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce’s Project Jobs to select actions to increase employee training and workplace innovations by employers.

 

Indicators:

1.      Percent of companies that encourage best practices; i.e., adopting appropriate skill standards, participating in workforce education and training and serving on advisory committees for education and training programs.

 

2.      Percent of employers providing general and specific training (external and in-house).

 

3.   Percent of companies' budgets spent on all forms of education and training.

 

4.   Percent of companies' workforce, including frontline supervisors, participating in all forms of education and training.

 

5.   Percent of employers (in surveys) reporting improvements in workers' performance.

 

Objective B:  Recognize business’ workforce models that achieve successful business outcomes.

 

Priority Actions:

1.      Promote the criteria and process of the Malcolm Baldrige Awards and other similar recognition awards, to evoke business excellence.

 

Indicators:

1.      Number of employer nominations for recognition and awards programs of outstanding employers.

 

2.      Percent of employers engaged in employee recognition and award programs.

 

3.   Percent of employers having two or more family-friendly policies/support services such as child care, employee assistance, flexible work hours, personal leave, transpor-

      tation assistance and/or accommodations for continuing education, and training.