Job Fair Targets Tech-savvy Seekers

High Technology Development Corporation (HTDC) hosts its 15th annual Holiday Science and Tech Job Fair from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Dec. 29 at Japanese Cultural Center. HR professionals will offer free resume evaluations and free headshot photos starting at 4 p.m. There will also be information offered on how to build a decent resume that should improve your chances of finding a job. They might also offer helpful online resources such as this service provided at www.arcresumes.com or a similar example you could find by searching for resume writers online. The aid offered at the job fair is in efforts to try and find those that are unemployed full-time work and prospecting careers.

“We started in collaboration under Gov. Ben Cayetano’s administration to help the technology industry grow here in Hawaii,” explains HTDC economic development specialist and lead event organizer Sandy Park. “It was a way to reach out to the kamaaina on the Mainland, skilled kamaaina, to bring them home and let them know there are opportunities here in the technology industry.”

The event has proven to be mutually beneficial. Navatek Ltd., for example, has been participating in the fair since 2006 – and has hired two engineers and one intern from it. One of the reasons for such success, Navatek opines, is that the fair is well-timed: It catches Mainland-transplated kamaaina who are home for the holidays, some of whom may be looking for technical careers that will allow them to return to the Islands. Besides that, the fact that they are fresh graduates or ones who have acquired the latest technology certifications such as an aws certification to help improve their job prospects makes it all the better for the right employers to find and connect with the right potential employees.

Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii helps sponsor the event, and president/CEO Sherry Menor is proud of the partnership.

“In alignment with the Chamber’s mission, this initiative will highlight innovative local businesses that are advancing Hawaii’s presence in the technology field, as well as connect Hawaii’s skilled workforce to potential employers and provide great resources and tools to job seekers,” Menor says.

Also part of the fair is HTDC’s WetWare Wednesday, which began as a networking forum for software developers.

“But it’s grown,” explains HTDC senior economic development manager Len Higashi of WetWare Wednesday. “We do (WetWare Wednesday) monthly, but in December we combine it with our Holiday Tech Fair.

“It’s a job fair, but it’s also a technology showcase for Hawaii,” Higashi adds.

For more information and to register, visit htdc.org/techfair-2014.

LIST OF EXHIBITORS:
Oceanit
Navatek Ltd.
LiveAction
Hawaii Tech Support
REHAB Hospital
ALTRES Technical
UH JABSOM
DataHouse
TeamPraxis
Kamakura
DevLeague/Sudokrew
Blue Startups/Sultan Ventures
Hawaii Pacific Health
UH College of Engineering
HICapacity
Hawaiian Air
Techmana
Chamber of Commerce
Kamaaina Careers
Pacific Allied
FBI
Pacxa
Spectrum Photonics
Hawaii Association of Media Arts

HR professionals also will be sharing resume tips

HTDC also has announced its new (and quite bold) 80/80 plan, which outlines plans to create 80,000 new technology and creative industry jobs by 2030. These jobs are slated to earn $80,000 or more.

“We want to put it out there as something that people could see and think about how important that would be for the state,” says Higashi. “People are worried about keeping kamaaina at home, and kids graduating from college with a technology degree can have a good (employment) opportunity when they come home.”