Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Labor & Public Employment and Higher Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 2959, S.D. 3, entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to improve manpower training and workforce development in the state by establishing a rapid response development and training program within the community college system of the University of Hawaii.

The University of Hawaii, Hawaii Business Roundtable, and Hawaii Crop Improvement Association supported this bill.

Your Committees find that the recent closure of several businesses with longstanding ties to our state and a rapidly changing global economy have caused a tremendous shift in Hawaii's job market. The recent announcement by the Del Monte Corporation that it will cease operations of its pineapple plantations on Oahu and reports about the effects these closures will have on long-time plantation workers highlight the need for a program that will enable a rapid response to retrain these workers.

Hawaii's construction industry is also experiencing a resurgence, with employment demand outpacing the size of the labor force. This situation is expected only to worsen with increases in residential and military construction on the horizon. Hawaii must prepare its workforce to meet the demands of a booming economy, especially in the field of construction.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Labor & Public Employment and Higher Education that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2959, S.D. 3, and recommend that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.