Nearly every week we read another headline about Hawaiʻi’s workforce shortage.

Hospitals struggle to recruit nurses. Contractors can’t find enough skilled tradespeople. Hotels compete for employees. Schools search for teachers. The discussion almost always ends in the same place: we need to train more workers and convince more young people to stay in Hawaiʻi.

Those are worthy goals. But after spending the past year reviewing workforce research specific to Hawaiʻi island, I have come to believe we are overlooking a more fundamental challenge.

The problem is not simply whether we have enough workers.

The problem is whether Hawaiʻi is creating enough living-wage opportunities for the people who already call these islands home.

That distinction changes everything.

Recent workforce research, the Workforce Understory,  estimates that approximately 25,000 people will enter Hawaiʻi island’s workforce over the next decade. During that same period, only about 8,600 living-wage job openings are projected. If those projections hold, only about 1 out of every 3 future workers can expect access to a job that provides economic security.

Training more people alone cannot solve a shortage of opportunity.

Instead, we need to ask a different question: How do we create more pathways that lead to meaningful work and a living wage?

The research also challenges another long-held assumption.

For decades, workforce discussions have focused primarily on four-year college degrees. Yet nearly 70% of Hawaiʻi island’s workforce has developed its skills through other pathways — community colleges, apprenticeships, military service, employer training, industry certifications, and years of work experience. More than 105,000 Hawaiʻi island workers fit this description.

These workers are known as STARs — Skilled Through Alternative Routes.

They are not a niche population.

They are the majority of our workforce.

If we truly want to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s economy, we must value these pathways as highly as we value traditional degrees. Apprenticeships, technical education, employer-sponsored training, paid work experience, industry certifications, and lifelong learning should be central—not secondary—to Hawaiʻi’s workforce strategy.

The research also offers reason for optimism.

Among Hawaiʻi island’s STAR workers, approximately 20,000 already earn within $20,000 of a living wage. Nearly 9,000 are within $10,000.

For many of these residents, reaching economic security may not require years of additional education. It could come through a short-term credential, a promotion, recognition of existing skills, stronger career ladders, or an employer willing to invest in advancement.

Helping workers already in the workforce move into higher-paying positions may be one of the most effective investments we can make.

The research also points toward industries where those investments could have the greatest impact.

Healthcare consistently stands out because it combines strong projected growth, meaningful wages, multiple entry points, and opportunities for long-term career advancement. Construction and the skilled trades continue to provide well-paying careers built on apprenticeships and hands-on experience rather than traditional academic pathways.

But perhaps the most important lesson is that workforce development cannot exist in isolation.

Training someone for a job that does not exist — or one that cannot support a family — is not success.

Likewise, employers cannot solve hiring challenges if housing, childcare, transportation, wages, or limited opportunities for advancement prevent people from entering or remaining in the workforce.

This is no longer simply an education issue.

It is an economic development issue.

A housing issue.

A healthcare issue.

A business competitiveness issue.

Ultimately, it is a quality-of-life issue that affects every community in Hawaiʻi.

Encouragingly, we are beginning to see a new level of collaboration across the state. Through the Learn, Work, Thrive Hui, convened by the Hawaiʻi Workforce Funders Collaborative, leaders from philanthropy, education, business, workforce organizations, and government developed the Generational Workforce Commitment — a shared vision for preparing Hawaiʻi’s workforce for generations to come. That collaborative effort ultimately led the Hawaiʻi Legislature to adopt a statewide resolution recognizing the importance of coordinated workforce development.

While resolutions alone will not solve our workforce challenges, they signal something important: Hawaiʻi increasingly recognizes that no single sector can solve this problem alone.

Are more Hawaiʻi residents finding meaningful careers that allow them to support their families, contribute to their communities, and build their futures here at home?

That collaboration is also beginning to translate into meaningful investment.

On Hawaiʻi island, the Kohala Coast Community Fund provides funds to 21 nonprofit organizations whose work strengthens career pathways across the island — from early career exploration and technical education to healthcare, agriculture, entrepreneurship, leadership development, and workforce training. Those investments are intended not simply to fund individual programs, but to strengthen the workforce ecosystem that creates lasting economic opportunity.

Across Hawaiʻi, many organizations are making similar investments. The encouraging trend is not that one organization is doing more, but that increasing numbers of public agencies, employers, educational institutions, nonprofits, and philanthropic organizations are beginning to align around a shared vision.

That may be our greatest opportunity.

If we continue measuring success by the number of people trained, we risk missing the bigger picture.

Instead, we should ask a different question:

Are more Hawaiʻi residents finding meaningful careers that allow them to support their families, contribute to their communities, and build their futures here at home?

That is ultimately the measure that matters.

Hawaiʻi’s greatest asset has never been its natural beauty.

It has always been its people.

Our challenge now is to build an economy that gives every one of them the opportunity not only to make a living — but to build a meaningful life here at home.