Workforce Development Division

News and Events

Molokai WDD and UI Office Schedule

REDUCING UNEMPLOYMENT DISRUPTION DRIVING ECONOMIC REGENERATION (RUDDER)

Gov. Ige and DLIR Director Scott Murakami announced the launching of the Reducing Unemployment Disruption & Driving Economic Regeneration (RUDDER) program. RUDDER is the DLIR’s economic regeneration initiative that provides State Employment & Training Funds that immediately infuses money into the economy and serve as the foundational strategy for aligning federal workforce programs, such as the Disaster Recovery grants, in a unified effort to efficiently train and transfer labor into Hawaiʻi’s businesses that can help reduce job losses and dampen the economic slide due to COVID-19. “The primary objective of RUDDER is to facilitate an efficient labor exchange between the sectors hardest hit by COVID-19 and healthcare sector employers hiring employees to combat COVID-19,” said DLIR Director Scott Murakami. “We know that jobs involving cleaning, such as hotel housekeepers, could move into jobs in the healthcare with minimal training and the RUDDER program will facilitate that exchange.”

The program provides up to $100,000 of relief to registered and compliant Hawai‘i businesses for new employees hired after March 1, 2020. The program provides an initial $500 payment for each new employee to offset training and associated costs upon notification to the department of the initial hiring of the employee. After six months of continuous employment and upon receipt of certification from the employer that they have retained the employee, the DLIR will issue a second payment of $500.

For information about the RUDDER program, please contact Ms. Maricar Pilotin-Freitas of the Workforce Development Division at (808) 586-8877 or e-mail [email protected].

Apprenticeships in Hawaii:

• Info for Jobseekers
• Info for Employers
• American Apprenticeship Initiative
  • Apprenticeships in Information Technology [ Brochure | Slides ]

Workforce Readiness – Interviews with Businesses
Learn what businesses see in new and current employees

• Construction and Labor
  • Kauai Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, Inc.
  • S & M Sakamoto, Inc.
  • Hawaii Laborers’ Joint Apprenticeship Committee
• Healthcare
  • Hale Makua Health Services
  • Hawaii Pacific Health
• Hospitality
  • Pono Kai Resort
  • Pono Kai Resort
  • Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas
  • Hyatt Regency
  • Aqua Kauai Beach Resort
  • Pono Kai Resort
• Information Technology
  • Hawaii Pacific Health
  • DevLeague

Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) –  Online filing now available!

State Workforce Advisory Boards

 

Aloha and welcome to the Workforce Development Division (WDD) Homepage!

WDD is a part of the Hawaii State Department of Labor & Industrial Relations (DLIR).    Our division provides the following core services and programs to job seekers and employers:

• Free job referral and search assistance for both job seekers and employers.
• Develop and maintain partnerships with private and public sector stakeholders to meet various emerging trends, advancements in technology and other issues facing our economy.
• Collaborate with educators, employers, and labor unions to identify basic skills of all workforce entrants.
• Provide consultative and support services to both employers and laid-off workers in times of financial trouble.

Whether you are a job seeker or an employer, we hope that you will take the time to learn about our services and allow us to help you soon.