Hawai i's Green Workforce A Baseline Assessment December 2010

Introduction
Context for the Hawai‘i Green Jobs Survey
Hawai‘i experiences unique challenges in transitioning
from a State that is 90 percent dependent on imported
oil to one that meets the Hawai‘i Clean Energy
Initiative (HCEI) vision of being 70 percent reliant on
renewable energy by 2030. Promulgated in June 2009,
the HCEI aims to bring together business leaders,
policy makers and a civil society committed to leading
Hawai‘i to energy independence. The HCEI focuses
on two primary objectives to meet this aggressive
energy independence goal:
Conserve: Use What We Need Efficiently
• Commit to a more energy-efficient lifestyle in
our homes and on the road.
• Establish energy-efficient building codes and
lower energy use at work and in our schools.
Convert: Harness What We Have Wisely
• Stop building fossil fuel plants.
• Generate 40 percent of energy locally by 2030.
• Harness energy from solar, wind, ocean,
geothermal, and biomass resources.
• Establish a sustainable alternative-fuel strategy.
• Modernize the power-grid system. 1
The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations
(DLIR) has actively sought to become a more
effective partner in this endeavor. Recognizing the
rapidly evolving needs of the clean energy sector and
the limitations of existing labor market information
(LMI), Hawai‘i was one of several states selected
by the US Department of Labor’s Employment
& Training Administration to receive an LMI
Improvement Grant funded through the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). It is this
funding that made possible the data collection and
subsequent assessment of the inaugural Hawai‘i Green
Jobs Survey (“Survey”).
1 www.HawaiiCleanEnergyInitiative.org
8 Hawaiÿi’s Green Workforce: A Baseline Assessment
Photo courtesy of Tom Burke
To support the State’s efforts to help build a workforce
with the skills necessary to compete for green jobs,
the DLIR conducted a statistical survey of Hawai‘i
businesses over a two-month period, May to July
2010. The purpose of this Survey was three-fold,
to: (1) estimate the number of jobs that significantly
contribute to environmental protection or preservation;
(2) identify the occupations involved with the
emerging green economy; and (3) identify the training
needs of a green workforce. Businesses were also
asked to provide information on their green practices,
irrespective of whether or not green jobs were
reported.
This Survey addresses three programmatic areas: (1)
collection of data necessary to guide the planning of
training programs for the short-term skills needed
for emerging green industries; (2) development
of LMI tools and enhancements that facilitate
the reemployment of an increasing number of
displaced workers; and (3) assistance to clean energy
stakeholders to understand the capacity of the State’s
LMI system and its central role in building a skilled
work force.
To develop a more comprehensive picture of the
greening economy and workforce, we employed