Youth Hospitality Program Builds Hawaiʻi Hiring Pipeline
Hospitality and visitor-industry employers can use the statewide exposure program to meet high school students considering local careers.
Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Job Fairs
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ClimbHI, a workforce development nonprofit, co-hosted the 14th annual Leadership, Exploration, Inspiration program at the Waikōloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, where nearly 150 high school students and teachers took part. The program's hospitality focus signals a pipeline of young workers for Hawaiʻi's visitor-industry employers.
Why it matters
The program puts students in direct contact with employers in the hospitality sector, which depends on a steady supply of local entry-level and career workers. Hawaiʻi's visitor economy is hiring-intensive, so recruiting early in high school gives businesses a longer lead on the talent they need.
The program has run 14 times, with nearly 150 high school students and teachers attending the Waikōloa event. Organizers project around 1,000 students and 100 businesses participating statewide this fall. No prior-year attendance or hiring outcomes were reported to compare these figures against.
The players
ClimbHI
A workforce development nonprofit that connects Hawaiʻi students with career pathways and employers across the state.
Hawaii Tourism Authority
The state agency that markets Hawaiʻi's visitor industry and co-sponsored this program to build the tourism workforce.
Waikōloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa
A large Kohala Coast resort hotel that hosted the program and serves as a visitor-industry employer on the Big Island.
The details
The program included an Exposure Fair run in a speed-dating format, where students rotated through short conversations with local businesses and organizations. Students also visited Kohala Coast businesses to see hospitality operations firsthand. Hawaii Tourism Authority co-sponsored the event, linking the visitor-industry sector to the youth outreach.
Timeline
The program was held Thursday, the week of October 31, 2026.
A Leadership, Exploration, Inspiration program is scheduled for November 13, 2026, at Castle Hilo Hawaiian Hotel in Hilo.
Market Landscape
The Hawaii Tourism Authority's co-sponsorship places a state marketing agency alongside youth workforce outreach, extending its role beyond destination promotion. The pattern shows the visitor sector treating early career exposure as part of its labor strategy on the Big Island and statewide.
Hospitality and visitor-industry employers should weigh participating in youth exposure events as a recruiting channel for entry-level and career roles. Operators in the hiring function may find that early school-based contact shapes the candidate pool they see in later years.
The takeaway
Operators who hire entry-level staff can consider contacting workforce nonprofits like ClimbHI about joining exposure fairs this fall, since the 1,000-student statewide schedule creates a defined window to meet prospective workers. Track whether program participation shifts applicant volume in your hospitality hiring pipeline over the next hiring cycle.
What happens next
A Leadership, Exploration, Inspiration program is scheduled for November 13, 2026, at Castle Hilo Hawaiian Hotel in Hilo, with about 1,000 young people and 100 businesses expected to take part statewide this fall.
Further reading
For more on how youth career events connect students with local employers, explore Job Fairs coverage across the state.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Big Island Now | Big Island News and Information.
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Do you think Hawaiʻi's tourism industry offers young people good local career opportunities?
