Hawaii will receive a grant of up to $100,000 from the National Governors Association to create a plan and policies for developing digital skills and equity in the state’s workforce.

The state was selected for the second phase of NGA’s Workforce Innovation Network, in which six participating states are to deploy cross-agency teams to identify and implement strategies that advance digital skill development and more equitable economic participation, closing digital gaps resulting from accelerated trends in automation and digital transformation. The plans are to be completed by June.

“We have a strong team that includes diverse stakeholders with expertise to advance a coordinated strategic approach to digital equity throughout the state,” Gov. David Ige said in the statement. “This grant supports our shared vision of a diversified economy with a focus on digital access.”

The State Public Library System will lead Hawaii’s team, which includes representatives from the Office of the Governor, Office of Broadband and Digital Equity, Workforce Development Council and community-based no-profit organizations with expertise in digital literacy. The Friends of the Library will serve as fiscal agent for the grant, and the NGA will provide subgrants and technical assistance.

State Librarian Stacey Aldrich said public libraries since the mid-1990s have been helping people with such digital skills as getting an email address, navigating publications, filling out job application forms, “or even using a Kindle their grandkids gave them for (Christmas).”

“We want everybody in Hawaii to be successful,” she said, noting digital technology is used in almost every industry, “including tourism and agriculture, and we know that the future success of our communities will rely on how digitally literate we are as a state.”

New industries were constantly emerging, she added, in fields such as artificial intelligence, sustainability and managing climate change, as well as “new jobs we can’t even name yet, but we do know people are going to have to have at least the basic skill sets.”

The coronavirus pandemic had underscored the need for connectivity, Aldrich said, and “digital literacy will help people be successful in working remotely from Hawaii.”

Sponsors of the initiative include the Cognizant Foundation, Intel, Microsoft, Western Governors University and Walmart.