Employers hunt skilled workers

An oft-repeated message employers delivered to people looking for work Tuesday at a Job Quest fair at Blaisdell Center was to "improve your skill set."

With Hawaii’s job market finally getting back on track after an extended slump, there are more employers hiring. The 150 companies recruiting Tuesday were up sharply from the 105 at the same event in January 2010 when the economy was struggling.

However, for many employers, finding candidates who have the proper training is becoming more of a challenge.

"All those people that were laid off in the recession? Not all those jobs are going to come back," said Beth Busch, executive director of Job Quest. And while the job market is improving, there are more layoffs in store at places like Tesoro Corp., she said.

"What are they going to do with these people? They are still vibrant workers. We have to figure out what their skill set is and see what similar positions they can morph into. The whole country is facing a skill set issue, and it’s not going to go away tomorrow," Busch said.

The health care industry is one area where employers have had difficulty finding qualified workers for some time, said Carl Hinson, director of workforce development at Hawaii Pacific Health. HPH, which operates three hospitals on Oahu and one on Kauai, is a regular participant at the job fair, which is held three times a year at the Blaisdell.

"The only thing that seems to have changed this time is that we’re hiring more," Hinson said. The company is looking to fill 320 positions, many that pay $50,000 or more a year, he said.

"This is where the jobs are. Health care is exploding across the country," Hinson said. "More of our citizens are 60 years or older. What happens when you age? You need more and more health care. So we will continue to see health care grow and will continue to see more jobs in hospitals and nursing homes."

The greatest need at HPH is for X-ray technicians, respiratory therapists and surgical technicians — all skills that can be learned in degree programs at the University of Hawaii community college system that range in length from 15 months to two years, he said.

The median pay for an X-ray technician is $54,340 a year, while respiratory therapists earn a median salary of $54,280 a year. Both degrees can be obtained in two years at Kapiolani Community College.

Prospective employees who have only a high school diploma can be trained as medical assistants, a position for which HPH pays $16 an hour, Hinson said.

"We have openings in every single one of these positions," he said.

Hawaiian Airlines also has been hitting the job fair to build its workforce as part of its recent expansion plans.

While many job hunters want to become flight attendants or ramp workers, openings at Hawaiian are more plentiful for aircraft mechanics and back-office jobs like accountants, information technology specialists and computer programmers, said Sunshine Topping, director of recruitment for Hawaiian.

"We’ve had an accounting position open for six to eight months with only two applicants that were qualified," she said. By comparison, the airline received 5,000 applications for 200 flight attendant jobs during its last round of hiring

Donell Pennington, who returned to Hawaii 2 1/2 months ago after being away for 28 years, said she hoped her varied background would appeal to potential employers. Pennington worked as a professional figure-skating coach, a jewelry designer and salesperson, a music promoter and a restaurant owner.

Pennington, one of 3,500 job hunters at the fair, said that despite her experience there is one area where her résumé may be lacking.

"Most jobs today require a lot of computer skills, which I missed out on because I was raising a family and teaching," she said.