Hundreds of middle and high school students on the island went to work Friday, although not in paid positions or for full eight-hour shifts.
Getting an early taste of the real world were students from a variety of schools, learning a variety of skills under the tutelage of volunteer mentors at local businesses, military facilities and government offices during the Friday, Feb. 1 annual Groundhog Job Shadow Day.
On that day in Punxsutawney, Penn., Groundhog Day, a friendly groundhog pops his head out of his burrow, and if he sees his shadow in the sun, it is said to signify another eight weeks of winter weather before spring hits.
On Kaua’i, the students become pastry chefs, porters, valet parking attendants, hotel executives, radio announcers, and perform a variety of other duties.
The whole idea of the five-year-old program is to teach students — some who have part-time jobs themselves — how the skills learned in school can and will be put to use in real-life work situations, and to let the young ones know the kinds of career skills that are needed to thrive in the workaday world.
At the Princeville Resort, hotel employees will host students from Kapa’a Middle School, and others from Kapa’a High School’s Travel Industry Management program, this Friday, Feb. 8.
Children of employees of Princeville Resort and Princeville Corporation are also invited to participate, with over 100 children expected to visit the hotel and learn about career opportunities in the hospitality industry.
The Career Job Shadow Day will begin with a tour of the hotel, followed by a back-of-the-house look at hotel operations. The students will have an opportunity to visit many hotel departments, and participate in hands-on demonstrations.
Princeville Resort is managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., and each Starwood hotel (including the Sheraton Kaua’i Resort on Po’ipu Beach) participates in StarCare for the Community, a community-service program in partnership with America’s Promise and The Alliance for Youth.
More information on the Princeville Resort’s job-shadow activities is available by calling Deborah Baker, the hotel’s human resource manager, 826-2273.
On a statewide basis, Gov. Ben Cayetano Friday proclaimed February 1 as Groundhog Job Shadow Day, joined by a number of government volunteers and their “shadows” for the day.
Groundhog Job Shadow Day is made possible by a consortium of organizations interested in promoting volunteerism and school-to-work training programs for young people, including America’s Promise, a nonprofit organization created to help fulfill the goals set forth at the President’s Summit for America’s Future.
Participation in the program has increased from 125,000 students across the country in its inaugural year to over one million last year.
“It’s exciting for Hawai’i’s students to join their peers across America in the Job Shadow Day program, which has proven to be an effective way for students to experience why their school work is so important to their future successes in the workplace,” said Carolann Biederman, president of Junior Achievement of Hawai’i.
Locally, Groundhog Job Shadow Day is being organized by America’s Promise Hawai’i, a program of Helping Hands Hawai’i; Junior Achievement of Hawai’i, Inc.; GEAR UP; and Hawai’i School to Work, a state Department of Education program that provides students with hands-on, work-based education to help their transition from school to work.
A wide variety of Hawai’i businesses, military facilities, public officials, Rotarians and others provided students with a broad range of work experiences designed to help students become more aware of what career skills are needed.
Hotels, restaurants, media, law, high-tech, insurance, banking, health care, the arts, and branches of the military were among the participants.
