Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism

For Immediate Release: February 11, 2021

Offering job opportunities for qualified applicants

HONOLULU—The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) and the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) through the Workforce Development Council (WDC) along with the Hawaii’s four county Workforce Development Boards (WDB), announced ‘Remote Ready Hawaii’, a Hawaii Remote Work project powered by MadSkills, dba, Instant Teams. A Hawaii based start-up, Instant Teams is a growing leader in the remote workforce space that focuses on improving Hawaii’s unemployed workforce’s employment prospects, especially those affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

This program provides Hawaii’s unemployed residents with the opportunity to obtain:

• Intensive training for a role as either a remote business development representative or a remote customer service professional.
• A paid remote internship through Instant Teams, in line with the training received.
• Job placement assistance after course and internship completion.

Applicants to this program will be contacted by the American Job Centers beginning Tuesday, February 16, 2021 and must meet the following criteria:

• Ability to commit to a 20-hour per week, paid internship, after completing training.
• Completion of a written application.
• Submission of a video interview.

“As Governor Ige stated in his State of the State address, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the rise of the digital economy. In the digital economy, it doesn’t matter where your workstation is located. Hawaii’s workers can compete globally from our island home allowing them a higher quality of life” said Mike McCartney, DBEDT director.

“This pilot project along with other projects that make up Hawaii’s Remote Work Pilot Program represents true collaboration between DBEDT, the State of Hawaii WDC, all four county WDBs and American Job Centers to expand remote work opportunities and take these initial steps to increase Hawaii’s competitiveness in the global digital economy,” McCartney added.

“Remote work for local residents is one important way we can keep families together here in Hawaii and stop the export of our talent. Creating remote worker opportunities by connecting our residents to global employment possibilities is one of the keys to opening doors to economic resiliency,” said Leslie Wilkins, chair of the State of Hawaii Workforce Development Council.

“Three-island Maui County has some of the most remote communities and under-served residents in Hawaii with a high concentration of Native Hawaiians.” said Linda Puppolo, Executive Director for the Maui County Workforce Development Board. “Since the COVID-19 Pandemic, there are few opportunities in these communities. By leveraging Maui County Workforce Development resources for recruitment and support, the Remote Ready Hawaii partnership offers a crucial opportunity for new career paths that will result in economic resilience and recovery.”

Added Instant Teams’ CEO and Ewa Beach resident, Liza Rodewald, “We’ve built a successful model in working with mainland companies to build teams of remote workers from military spouses. We are excited to now expand that model and create job opportunities for the residents here in Hawaii.”

Program participants will be selected based on:

• Completed application
• Goal alignment
• Technical Readiness
• Commitment to the program requirements

The AJC’s will be contacting possible candidates for these remote work positions beginning Tuesday, February 16, 2021.

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About the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT)
DBEDT is Hawaii’s resource center for economic and statistical data, business development opportunities, energy and conservation information, and foreign trade advantages. DBEDT’s mission is to achieve a Hawaii economy that embraces innovation and is globally competitive, dynamic and productive, providing opportunities for all Hawaii’s citizens. Through its attached agencies, the department fosters planned community development, creates affordable workforce housing units in high-quality living environments, and promotes innovation sector job growth.

About the Workforce Development Council (WDC)
The Workforce Development Council is a 41-member advisory commission comprised of public and private-sector representatives, who are appointed by the Governor on the basis of their interest and knowledge of workforce development programs in Hawaii and how to support economic development throughout the state. The WDC is the oversight agency of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). It is an attached agency to the State of Hawaii Labor and Industrial Relations.

About the Workforce Development Boards (WDBs)
The Workforce Development Boards are the local board that develop and administer county focused local plans that meets the requirements Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The WBDs provide local leadership, contracting and oversight of the county administered American Job Centers, providing direct services to Hawaii’s unemployed and underemployed residents.

About the Hawaii American Job Centers (AJCs)
There are four American Job Centers, one in each county providing free services to job seekers and employers. Services for job seekers include career counseling, HireNet Hawaii support, skills training, job search assistance and a resource center; while businesses can receive recruiting and job training assistance, along with labor market information.

About Instant Teams
Instant Teams utilizes Arti, a proprietary remote team software, to build and manage teams of highly-skilled military spouses, a previously untapped resource. Instant Teams works with companies in diverse sectors such as cybersecurity, health tech, ed tech, and e-commerce to efficiently source, hire, onboard, manage, and retain a robust remote workforce, providing flexibility and opportunity to customers and team members.

Media Contacts:
Scott Murakami
Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism
m: (808) 282-1588

Charlene Chan
Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism
m: (808) 824-0134