A new pilot program from the City and County of Honolulu's Office of Economic Revitalization aims to help small businesses and nonprofits on O‘ahu — and their employees — step into the technological future.
OER, in partnership with Māpunawai and Skilled Tomorrow, is set to launch "AI for Everyone at Work: Training Trainers to Teach Across Generations." The initiative intends to help organizations on the island introduce artificial intelligence "in practical, responsible and accessible ways for a multigenerational workforce."
According to the city, the free one-day training uses a "train-the-trainer" model that will allow organization leaders to bring AI education to their employees. Participants — who'll commit to delivering at least two internal training sessions within six months of completing the program — will learn AI fundamentals, real-world workplace use cases, prompt-writing frameworks and strategies for teaching AI "responsibly" to older adults and multigenerational teams, a recent announcement from the city noted.
"AI Is already present in our workplace[s] across Hawai‘i and there isn't always a clear roadmap on introduction and usage," OER Executive Director Amy Asselbaye told Aloha State Daily in an emailed response to questions. "Hawai‘i has one of the highest older-adult labor force participation rates, where this age group is disproportionately left out of upskilling opportunities and [this] is a gap that matters locally as folks continue to remain in the workforce past retirement age to support themselves and their ‘ohana."
Asselbaye says that the OER team is "always ideating" ways to be more innovative in its approaches and initiatives for its programs.
Workforce Development Program Manager Su Lazo proposed the "train the trainer" framework from her expertise in the subject and findings in the workforce development sector, she noted.
"It continues our work to increase upskilling and career pathway opportunities — like our Good Jobs Oʻahu program," Asselbaye says. "Additionally, the focus on AI training comes as a recommendation from OERʻs Economic Revitalization Commission as a part of their priorities for the year."
For her part, Lazo says the goal of the program is to build capacity from within an organization instead of relying on outside consultants, which come at an extra cost, "so local businesses and nonprofit organizations can develop their own trainers who can continue teaching staff internally, making AI education more sustainable and cost-effective."
"By training trainers who can teach others, the program creates a ripple effect spreading AI literacy, improving adaptability, and preparing organizations to stay competitive in a rapidly changing economy," Lazo continued in a written response to questions. "Our partnership with Māpunawai and Skilled Tomorrow adds capacity to the program with the current technical assistance they provide to the community and the expert support they will be offering for this AI training program."
Lazo says in the program, participating businesses and nonprofits will learn how to use AI as a support tool and not an employee replacement, "so organizations can improve productivity while preserving human judgment, institutional knowledge and trusted employee experience."
According to the announcement, the program is designed for O‘ahu-based businesses and nonprofits with five to 50 employees. The ideal applicants work in human resources, management, learning and development, or team leadership and are "ready to introduce AI thoughtfully within their organization."
No prior AI experience is required, but applicants, however, will need a letter of support from organizational leadership confirming their ability to participate and deliver post-training sessions. Those who participate will receive resources to help them introduce AI concepts to their teams and collect feedback.
Interested? Apply here by May 27. A cohort of 12 will be selected, with notifications sent by June 3. Those who are qualified but not selected will be placed on a waitlist.
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Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
