THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	131
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

Requesting the Workforce Development Council to recommend to the Governor, for inclusion in the State Unified Plan, a comprehensive statewide workforce strategy to ensure that all people of the State have a pathway to a career that enables them to learn, work, and thrive in the State and contribute to a vibrant local economy grounded in community values by 2045.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the State is at a critical demographic and economic crossroads due to its high cost of living and limited employment opportunities; and

 

     WHEREAS, the results of the 2025 Holomua Collective Affordability Survey, which polled over three thousand two hundred local working residents, exemplify the widening gap between local wages and the cost of living; and

 

     WHEREAS, the survey found that seventy-five percent of respondents said they will, or were unsure if they will, relocate to a less expensive state in the coming years due to increasing economic pressures, and that thirty-three percent of respondents preparing to leave plan to relocate within five years; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2023, the Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) household survival budget for a family of four in the State was $110,112, and forty-five percent of households fell below that threshold; and

 

     WHEREAS, in addition to the significant portion of working individuals and families currently struggling economically, the State's youth face a precarious future; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii Workforce Funders Collaborative reports that nearly thirty percent of the approximately one hundred seventy thousand young residents projected to enter the State's workforce over the next decade will lack viable opportunities to build a sustainable career in the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, to prevent a permanent loss of local talent, the State must bridge the gap between education and employment by investing in robust career counseling infrastructure and work‑based learning opportunities that connect students to high‑quality, local employment opportunities in the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, efforts by multiple state departments and agencies, nonprofit partners, and labor organizations have made, and continue to make, significant foundational progress in increasing workforce development opportunities for local working residents, including through the adoption of the State Unified Plan by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and the Workforce Development Council; and

 

     WHEREAS, this collaborative framework has begun to bring together education, industry, labor, and social services to connect federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (2014) funding with state resources; and

 

     WHEREAS, achieving the vision of a resilient, inclusive economy, however, requires transitioning from a temporary collaborative effort in workforce development to a long‑term comprehensive statewide strategy and goal; and

 

     WHEREAS, successful models in states such as Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, and Virginia demonstrate that comprehensive workforce strategies anchored by a common, statewide goal are essential for long-term alignment and accountability; and

 

     WHEREAS, by establishing clear metrics and a whole‑of‑government approach, these states have integrated funding streams and established momentum through data collection, sharing, and analysis; and

 

     WHEREAS, despite considerable effort and growth over the past decade, the State's workforce development landscape lacks a common long-term strategy; and

 

     WHEREAS, the establishment of a common long-term strategy can provide the framework, funding, and motivation for all stakeholders to move in concert toward a shared definition of success, and will improve the State's talent pipelines in high‑demand, high-wage occupations; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, that the Workforce Development Council is requested to recommend to the Governor, for inclusion in the State Unified Plan, a comprehensive statewide workforce strategy to ensure that all people of the State have a pathway to a career that enables them to learn, work, and thrive in the State and contribute to a vibrant local economy grounded in community values by 2045; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the comprehensive statewide workforce strategy is requested to:

 

     (1)  Serve as a long-term framework to unify state and county workforce efforts under a common goal with aligned priorities; and

 

     (2)  Be incorporated into, and guide, each State Unified Plan and any modification thereof, regardless of the applicable planning period; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the comprehensive statewide workforce strategy is requested to include, at a minimum, specific plans to achieve, and metrics to evaluate, progress in the following areas:

 

     (1)  Increasing work-based learning infrastructure and access, with focus on summer youth internship programs;

 

     (2)  Increasing economic resilience and opportunity;

 

     (3)  Reducing underemployment and improving job quality;

 

     (4)  Expanding living-wage employment opportunities;

 

     (5)  Expanding industry-led sectoral partnerships; and

 

     (6)  Increasing job retention; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Workforce Development Council is requested to be responsible for facilitating the alignment of workforce development efforts and programs administered by state departments and agencies to achieve the goals established in the State Unified Plan and recommended comprehensive statewide workforce strategy; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all state departments and agencies are requested to assist the Workforce Development Council by providing data and information necessary to support periodic evaluation of the comprehensive statewide workforce strategy, to the extent permitted by law; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; Executive Director of the Workforce Development Council; Comptroller; Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity; Attorney General; Director of Finance; Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; Adjutant General; Chairperson of the Board of Education; Superintendent of Education; Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission; Director of Health; Director of Human Resources Development; Director of Human Services; Director of Labor and Industrial Relations; Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources; Director of Law Enforcement; Director of Corrections and Rehabilitation; Director of Taxation; Director of Transportation; and President of the University of Hawaii System.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

 

Report Title: 

Hawaii Workforce Development Council; State Unified Plan; Comprehensive Statewide Workforce Strategy