If Kaua‘i’s hospitality leaders had they’re way, the perfect entry-level employee might look something like this: comes to work on time, has coping skills to deal with life’s emergencies, uses Hawaiian words along with proper English grammar, and knows Kaua‘i
If Kaua‘i’s hospitality leaders had they’re way, the perfect entry-level employee might look something like this: comes to work on time, has coping skills to deal with life’s emergencies, uses Hawaiian words along with proper English grammar, and knows Kaua‘i and Hawaii history.
It would be nice if they spoke a little Japanese, too, they say.
“The type of tourist we’re getting on Kaua‘i is very sophisticated,” said Fred Atkins, managing director of Kilohana during a hospitality focus group held at Gaylord’s Friday. “Our young people have to understand that these people aren’t just tourists, but seasoned travelers. They stay in hotels and timeshares, and many are returnees with a feeling of ownership about Kaua‘i.”
The message of the group couldn’t have been more timely.
About 800 to 1,000 seniors will graduate from Kaua‘i’s schools within the next few days, so the Friday’s meeting of about 10 hospitality and educational leaders had a certain relevance.
Attendees agreed that Kaua‘i County’s job market is there for the taking to young people (and the more mature, as well). Indeed, an unemployment rate of only 3.8 percent means that Kaua‘i’s 30,000 workforce can pick and choose jobs easier than their counterparts elsewhere.
The problem with that job abundance was illustrated when some hospitality executives described applicants coming dressed in t-shirts with “profanity” written on them, or in surf shorts.
In other words, it’s sometimes easy to take things for granted when there are so many opportunities, they said.
The question of finding qualified workers took on special meaning for the leaders when they considered that job growth on Kaua‘i will skyrocket soon, even as older workers retire and many of Kaua‘i’s young people leave the island for school, job opportunities or more affordable housing.
It was a complicated meeting touching on a wide-array of sociological and economic factors, from housing, to training, to retention programs, to low birth rates, to Hawaii’s sometime overly casual mannerisms.
But Kaua‘i Councilmember Jay Furfaro summed it up in a phrase:
“We need to reach into the schools and start there,” he said.
It takes training to create good employees, said William Blackburn, coordinator of Continuing Education and Training at Kaua‘i Community College. There’s plenty of that available right here on Kaua‘i, he said.
“Our hospitality program can support 50 students, but we only get 12 to 15 each session,” Blackburn said.
Darlene Yamase, director of Human Resources for the Sheraton Kaua‘i, said that the Sheraton is working on ways to condense the KCC program so that students can enter the workforce in one or two semesters. She said that the KCC program is highly regarded, and that, in the future, the Sheraton would like to offer preference to graduates of KCC’s hospitality program.
The leaders agreed that Kaua‘i High School’s Academy of Travel and Tourism is a great example of a successful high school program, and that they’d like to see more of the same at other schools.
The focus group, the last of four, was sponsored by the Office of Economic Development’s Workforce Investment division.
