Kailua-Kona, HI - Looking for a fresh career start or wanting to get some new trade skills under your belt? Apply now to participate in a workforce training program being offered by La`i`ōpua 2020 which is intended to help individuals qualify for jobs in the light industrial and construction sectors of West Hawai`i’s workforce.
“Ao – Passport to a Brighter Future” will offer trade skills training certification to Native Hawaiian adults through a program focusing on:
● CPR, First Aid, and AED
● Fire Extinguisher Safety
● Confined/Enclosed Space Awareness
● Lockout/Tagout Procedures
● Job Hazard Analysis
● Heat Illness Awareness
● Fall Protection
● Forklift Operation
● Scissor Lift, Aerial Boom & Telehandler Operation
● OSHA 10
● Scaffold Training
Participants must be of Native Hawaiian descent, 18 years of age or older, and possess a valid driver’s license. A fully refundable deposit is required. Participants who successfully complete the Passport Training program and are 21 years or older will be eligible for a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training class.
An initial cohort of the program started in July 2025. A second cohort will begin in early October. Training will be held at La`i`ōpua 2020 in Kealakehe, North Kona with experienced trainers.
“We believe this program will open meaningful employment opportunities for Native Hawaiian adults in West Hawaiʻi. The first cohort has embraced the experience with great enthusiasm, and we hope many more will take advantage of the seven cohorts to come,” says Rebecca “Kawehi” Inaba, executive director of La`i`ōpua 2020. “Our research, both data based and through conversation with our lāhui, has revealed a stark need for new opportunities and skills training in the community. I want to mahalo the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Homelands for recognizing the need for this training and funding this program.”
ABOUT LA`I`ŌPUA 2020
La`i`ōpua 2020 is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide social, recreational, vocational, economic, educational, and cultural opportunities and infrastructure to Native Hawaiians to include the communities of the Kealakehe ahupua`a. It is a place for pilina (building and supporting one another through relationships) and pu`uhonua (a place of comfort, peace, and safety). For more information about La`i`ōpua 2020, visit its website, Laiopua.org, or call 808.365.3005
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Kailua-Kona, HI - Looking for a fresh career start or wanting to get some new trade skills under your belt? Apply now to participate in a workforce training program being offered by La`i`ōpua 2020 which is intended to help individuals qualify for jobs in the light industrial and construction sectors of West Hawai`i’s workforce.