CfAO Professional
Development Workshop
May 18, 2004
“To broaden our economic base and provide employment
to the young people of Maui, including former residents
who would like to return, we are seeking to start a process
which will lead to community-accepted
new economic directions which both the public and private sectors
working together can follow
…this will not be an easy task or a quick fix.”
Colin C. Cameron
Opening Remarks at Kapalua Conference
on “Maui’s Economic Future”
December 9, 1981
Vision
A future in which abundant opportunities for rewarding
employment are met by a qualified, resident workforce in
Maui County, a community which honors its cultural
heritage and natural environment
Mission
To provide leadership and vision in our community
for the responsible design and development
of a strong and diversified economy
$136 million and counting…
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Wailea/Makena Resorts
HC&S
181
136
112
155
Yearly Revenue Comparison
(Millions of Dollars)
Maui Land & Pine
Maui High Tech
Industry
We are diverse…
We are world class…
Assets
• 1 of top 5 viewing locations in the world
• Suite of 11 Air Force and University of Hawaii telescopes
- AEOS: largest optical telescope in DoD system
- Faulkes Telescope
• Deep and near space applications, orbital debris
tracking, Near Earth Asteroid Tracking, world-renowned
solar research
• World-class industry in design, research, custom
production of optics and sensors
• Imaging, simulation/modeling
• Maui High Performance Computing Center
• Pacific Disaster Center
It pays a living wage…
Average Annual Income in MRTP is $60,000
What Is A Living Wage in Maui County?
70000
60000
Cashiers
50000
Retail Sales
40000
Housekeepers
30000
First Line Supervisors
20000
Adult & Infant & Preschooler
10000
MRTP Average Income
0
Maui County (excluding Lahaina)
“The fact that only two of the ten largest
occupations in Hawaii provide wages sufficient to
meet even the smallest family’s needs accentuates
the lack of opportunities to secure a livable wage in
the labor market…
[1. Nursing and 2. Technology].”
The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Hawaii
April 2003
Workforce: Key to growth and
competing…
Workforce Development
• Women in Technology
- National model pilot/demonstration projects
- Tapping women and minorities
- Includes boys
• Technical assistance
- Creating “pipeline”
- Recruitment
- Retention
• Education is foundation for workforce
• Attention to Kama’aina come home
• Science/culture interface
High Tech Maui
Holiday Job Fair
• 15 companies
• 600 participants
• 25 placements
• Database
Boeing’s Daron Nishimoto
at Job Fair
Computer Operator Apprenticeship
• 2 year program
• 5 apprentices
Jamie Legsay, apprentice to
MECO full-time hire
Project EAST (Environmental
and Spatial Technology)
• Project-based, lab-based
• 300 students, 5 high schools
Baldwin High School EAST class
FSEA (Future Scientists &
Engineers
Of American)
• 800 students
Teacher Emily Haines with King
Kekaulike High School FSEA students
Excite Camp
• Astronomy and culture
• Intermediate school
• 25 native Hawaiian girls
Job Shadowing
• Tech Careers Day: “I am the future”
• Introduce Girls to Engineering
• 200 students
MentorNet
• Matching women to industry mentors
• 100 mentees
Sharyn Sharp at Dreisbach Data
Building partnerships for equity…
1st Annual Akamai Internship Program
• Center for Adaptive Optics
• 12 paid internships
County of Maui
U. S. Senator Inouye
U.S. Department of Labor
U. S. Department of Education
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Center for Adaptive Optics
Air Force Research Lab
Technology Business Community
U of Hawaii/Maui Community College
Department of Education, Maui District
Kamehameha Schools
Labor Unions
Kama’aina Careers
Workforce
Alliances
Lessons for Success
• Administered through an organization with existing key
relationships with STEM employers and educators.
• Obtain ongoing buy-in from high-ranking employer and
educator partners.
• Involve partners in
wide-ranging recruitment
and retention programs
based on equity best
practices.
Moving Toward Critical Mass
• 4 years later: Female technical workforce at
MRTP increased to 23% from less than 13% in
2000.
• A female hired as CEO
• 6 new female Ph.D.’s lead research in 4 MRTP
companies.
• Center for Adaptive Optics (CfAO) internships –
33% female, 75% from under-represented groups.
Kama’aina Come Home
Keiki Pua Dancil, PhD,
Trex Enterprises
The partnership payoff…
Growing the next generation…
We have momentum…
Maui Research & Technology Park
MHPCC
MicroGaia
New Building Site
Maui R&T Center
Premier Place
RME Site
Contact Information:
Jeanne Skog, President & CEO
Leslie Wilkins, Vice President
Maui Economic Development Board, Inc.
(808) 875-2300
Skog@medb.org
Leslie@medb.org