Puna Rising invites youth, employers to first Puna Youth Career Fair

Puna Rising invites youth ages 14 to 19 years old, their parents and friends, as well as employers and businesses interested in hosting a table, to the first Puna Youth Career Fair hosted by the nonprofit’s new Youth Hub.

The free community event is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 15 at Arts and Science Center Pavilion, home of Hawaiʻi Academy of Arts & Science Public Charter School, located at 15-1397 Post Office Road, in Pāhoa. It is aimed at giving Puna’s youth a path to stay, work and thrive at home.

“Closing that gap is essential to the community’s future,” said program director Sylvia Dolena in a release about the upcoming event.

Those interested in attending and businesses that want to host a table can register online.

Employers, business owners and educators who want to reserve a table should complete the form at the above link by Aug. 6.

“Please help us develop the next generation of the local workforce,” Dolena said. “Every young person who finds their path here means one more family that can stay, one more business that can grow with local talent, one more step toward a self-sufficient Puna.”

Puna faces significant economic and educational challenges.

Hawaiʻi ranks 40th in the nation for education, and statewide only 32% of public school students meet math standards and 35% meet science standards. In Puna, where nearly half of the families rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, the impact is even greater.

The 2018 Kīlauea eruption and COVID-19 pandemic compounded these challenges, wiping out small businesses and jobs; economists estimate the region lost $94 million in economic benefit and saw farm losses of $27.9 million. Total recovery costs exceed $800 million.

There now are more Native Hawaiians living outside the state, driven in large part because of a cost of living where rent consumes an average 42% of income, the highest in the nation.

The Youth Career Fair is a major milestone for the Youth Hub, a program founded to address the lack of access to business and job-skills education among Puna’s youth.

“The youth on this island, especially in East Hawaiʻi, have very little access to education and opportunity around business, job and professional skills,” Dolena said. “It’s key in breaking the cycle of poverty. It’s key in helping them build their confidence and take on new challenges. These are our keiki. This is our future.”

Staff and leadership at the Youth Hub are working to build that opportunity at home rather than wait for young people to leave the islands.

Youth who register for the program complete a Career Interest Self-Assessment to identify their strengths and interests, followed by training in skills employers value most: self-confidence, teamwork, communication, initiative, feedback, leadership and time management.

Training is delivered through mentorship, experiential activities and video-based lessons.

Dolena’s goal is to help youth replace a mindset of limitation with one of possibility and opportunity.

“It’s been conditioned out of them,” she said about many young people’s sense of hope. “Their challenge is to replace that conditioning with a new message of ‘I can.’ We are here to support them!”