Councilmember Kymberly Marcos Pine partnered with the Kapolei Chamber of Commerce to bring a unique job and career fair to West O’ahu – one that focuses on “Connecting Leeward residents with Leeward Jobs”. The 3rd Annual Hire Leeward Job and Career Fair took place on March 24, 2015, (Tuesday) at the University of Hawai’i – West O’ahu campus from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
With a theme of “Connecting Leeward Residents with Leeward Jobs”, the Fair hosted over 70 businesses offering Leeward-based job opportunities. There were free business and personal development seminars to give attendees new skills and tools for their career development path. Businesses and organizations offered many opportunities from a wide range of industries including: healthcare, food service, hospitality, retail, and administrative, as well as trade apprenticeships.
As an example, Leonard Smith can now sleep in 2 hours more than he used to, before getting up for work every day. Ever since he switched his job and cut his commute time job by 85%, he looks forward to spending quality time each morning with his wife and kids, rather than sitting in gruesome traffic. Leonard has been with U.S. VETS – Barbers Point for the past 3 years. Prior to this, he was spending long hours driving to his job in town. With the long commute time and traffic issues, driving to work, according to him, became a bear. He consciously began searching for employment that was closer to home in order to alleviate his commute time, thus improving his quality time with his family.
Leonard Smith (right) – Leeward resident, was featured on Hawaii News Now’s Sunrise show, where he recently shared his testimony about reducing his morning commute by finding a job closer to home.
