The White House announced Wednesday that Hawaii would be one of 15 new communities to benefit from a program that provides tech training to help simulate tech opportunities in the local workforce.

President Barack Obama selected the High Technology Development Corporation , an agency in the state Department of Business, Economic Development &Tourism, to participate in the program.

Gov. David Ige said that Obama choosing Hawaii as a TechHire region would help his administration’s 80/80 initiative — to create 80,000 new technology jobs earning more than $80,000 annually by 2030.

“We fully support the president’s TechHire program, which will enable our residents to access accelerated job training opportunities and compete for higher-wage-earning jobs,” Ige said.

TechHire is a multisector initiative designed to empower people with the skills they need, through universities, community colleges and alternative approaches.

“Our state’s unique business and cultural environment has made it an ideal setting for innovative tech companies to grow and succeed,” U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz said. “That’s why making sure Hawaii has a competitive high-tech workforce is important for our local economy. This program will highlight Hawaii’s emerging tech sector, encourage innovation, and help more people develop the skills they need to fill good-paying tech jobs and advance their careers.”

HTDC has created a coalition of workforce organizations, employers, and state and local government to develop and align training to meet the demands of employers.

“HTDC is committed to matchmaking employers and high-potential candidates by working with stakeholders to develop innovative training programs such as ‘coding boot camps,’ virtual classrooms and high-quality online courses to rapidly train workers for high-paying tech jobs,” said Robbie Melton, executive director and CEO at HTDC.

Obama launched the TechHire initiative one year ago. TechHire began with 21 communities and more than 300 employer partners, announcing plans to work together to find new ways to recruit and place applicants based on their actual skills and to create more fast-track tech training opportunities. Since the launch of TechHire, the initiative has grown to 50 communities.

“I applaud HTDC’s efforts to secure Hawaii’s participation in the president’s TechHire program,” state Chief Information Officer Todd Nacapuy said. “The program will complement parallel IT workforce development efforts within state government being led by the Office of Enterprise Technology Services to increase the state’s ability to modernize government processes, systems, solutions and services efficiently and cost-effectively.”