As the second anniversary of the Maui wildfires approaches, the Building Industry Association of Hawai‘i is working to build the island's construction workforce, bringing its Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Training program to the Valley Isle this fall.
PACT is a six-week, full-time workforce development program for people who are new to the construction industry. Here, you'll learn essential skills, tools and knowledge needed for a career in the building industry. The program is free for qualified residents.
The six-week program — sponsored by the Maui County Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, or WIOA, program, and the Hawai‘i Building Industry Foundation — will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, Sept. 8 to Oct. 24, at the J. Walter Cameron Center, 95 Mahalani St. in Wailuku.
BIA Hawai‘i CEO Roseann Freitas recently told Aloha State Daily that the organization — a not-for-profit trade association chartered by the National Association of Home Builders in 1955 — had offered the PACT program for "a very long time." It was shut down during the Covid-19 pandemic, "and we revitalized it last September."
Since then, a handful of cohorts have been offered.
"Once we got those first few classes under our belt — then the success rate was there, but also we saw the need," Freitas said. "We were helping underserved markets."
Some classes had members who were homeless but showing up for every class, she said. It's something that's "not easy to do, even under regular circumstances. So we realized that this was a great program [and] wanted to get it to Maui. We knew Maui needed it."
On Aug. 8, 2023, fires driven by high winds tore through Lahaina and other parts of the Valley Isle. More than 100 people died in the blaze that destroyed much of Lahaina town.
The University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization estimated in a December 2023 report that, at its peak, "rebuilding on Maui will require 2,000 additional construction workers."
According to Freitas, BIA Hawai‘i is working with Maui County to fund some of the students' course fees, along with the Hawai‘i Building Industry Foundation, and is partnering with nonprofit HomeAid Hawai‘i to offer participants hands-on experience.
"We feel like it's a great win," she said. "They're learning and at the same time, they're helping to rebuild the community there."
The construction workforce has been short for decades, Freitas says.
"That was the mindset. People sent their kids to college. They did not think about the trades and we're paying that price now."
But construction pays "above average wages," Freitas says.
"People can get out of these trade schools — or our [program] is six weeks. There's other options like going on to an apprenticeship or furthering it along, but they're coming out without the debt that college students are having and they're making more money," she continued. "It's a really good answer, especially for people who want to stay and live in Hawai‘i because it's so expensive so you need to have a decent wage."
The Maui PACT website notes that participants will learn about job site safety and earn certifications in OSHA-30 Construction Safety, adult first aid, CPR and AED; and optional certifications in lead renovation, repair and painting, and OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) Disaster Site Worker safety. They'll also learn technical trade skills in carpentry, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, masonry, weatherization and landscaping; construction math and blueprint reading; green building fundamentals; career readiness and professionalism; and also gain some real-world experience.
Freitas says about 70% of the curriculum is hands-on.
"As we're doing this, we bring in experts from the industry," Freitas says. "That's who teaches these courses — people within the industry who want to give back in their way or they have a flexible schedule that they can come teach."
Freitas says PACT has a success rate of about 83%. For this program, that means completing the six-week course and getting the certifications.
There are three pathways for those who complete the training, she says: go right into the workforce, apply for an apprenticeship program or continue their education at a college.
"We're exposing them to different opportunities because when people think construction, they always think [about] the traditional construction worker, but there's every profession almost in there, and there's different avenues," Freitas says. "We're giving them options and then these three career pathways that they could continue on — and we're staying in touch with them. That's probably the big thing."
As for the importance of addressing the construction industry's workforce needs, Freitas notes future housing demands in Hawai‘i.
(ICYMI: Hawai‘i Housing Finance and Development Corp.'s 2024 Hawai‘i Housing Planning study, which was published online earlier this year, found that the state will need an estimated 64,490 additional housing units by 2027 to meet demand).
"We know we have a housing crisis," Freitas says. "We have a shortage of housing and we've lost a lot of people to the Mainland. They're finding it too expensive to live here, so that is shrinking all of our talent pool — especially construction."
Without people here to build, she says people have to be brought in from the Mainland to do the work.
"They're here to do great things, but at the end of the day, when the job is done, all of that revenue goes back to the Mainland," Freitas notes. "The more we can do here on our island and keep that revenue stream here, it helps the economy overall. I think that's why it's so important."
According to BIA, the Maui training opportunity is targeting Maui residents — including Native Hawaiians; Pacific Islanders; Asian Americans; women; disconnected youth, typically ages 16 to 24 who are not in school or employed; and economically marginalized residents, although anyone can apply and there are no age restrictions.
Visit here for more information or to apply.
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Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
