Workforce for Water

This project supports wastewater technician training, aligning education to the rural technician needs across Hawaii and nationwide as the wastewater treatment industry moves towards new and efficient technologies that protect public health and the global environment. Traditional Pacific Island identity is deeply rooted in sustainable water management, and a central focus of this project is to build on the growing unique mālama ʻāina movement in Hawaii, a culture-based strategy for addressing environmental issues through land stewardship. The project addresses the critical technician workforce shortage required to replace 88,000 cesspools with individual wastewater systems (IWS) by 2050, as mandated by the Hawaii state legislature Act 125. Hawaii's cesspools release over 53 million gallons of sewage into the ground daily, threatening public health by contaminating the islands groundwater the primary source of Hawaii's drinking water. Moreover, contaminated groundwater leaches out into the ocean, disrupting coastal ecosystems that are a fundamental part of Hawaiian cultural and economic identity.

The collaborative project between the University of Hawaii, Maui College (UHMC) and Hawaii Community College (Hawaii CC) has leveraged alliances with 16 industry associations, employers and policy advocacy groups, two ATE Centers, and three local and mainland ATE projects with similar foci, to develop an Advanced Professional Certificate (23 credit hours) in wastewater management - the Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems Specialist certificate, effectively building and supporting a sustainable talent pipeline in the recession-resilient emerging skilled trades and technology sectors related to Individual Wastewater Systems (IWS). The project: 1) improves understanding of sustainable wastewater management systems in unique contexts, 2) encourages industry collaboration and engagement in solving wastewater problems, 3) integrates learning approaches that together enhance the existing knowledge base on wastewater management education, 4) increases recruitment, retention, and completion of students from groups underrepresented in wastewater management education programs, including Native Hawaiians, and 5) strengthens the available pool of skilled workers to meet the technical demand for IWS implementation.