Educational Partnerships

To help us achieve our short and longterm staffing needs, last year we invested in innovative school-to-career pipeline partnerships that broaden opportunities for students to consider Hawaiian as an employer and increase our access to talent, especially in Hawai‘i.

Honolulu Community College Aeronautics Maintenance Technology Program

We formed an innovative program with Honolulu Community College to graduate more local students as highly skilled aviation maintenance technicians, a field experiencing soaring demand. Starting in the fall 2022 semester, Hawaiian Airlines mechanics began teaching classes for the school’s Aeronautics Maintenance Program – an arrangement expected to help the campus double enrollment by the 2023 fall semester.

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I LEAP-START PROGRAM

We are partnering with the University of Hawai‘i (UH) to develop a workforce readiness program for recent or approaching graduates in the high-demand fields of information technology and cybersecurity through part-time internships. In October 2022, we hosted a virtual informational session with UH to share exciting IT opportunities at Hawaiian and selected four students to participate in the Leap-Start program. Students attended an IT bootcamp hosted by UH prior to beginning work with us in March 2023.

Arizona State University Scholarship

We are encouraging Hawai‘i students to pursue careers in information technology with the establishment of a $100,000 scholarship fund in partnership with Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business. The Hawaiian Airlines New Horizons Scholarship will provide $10,000 awards each year for up to two undergraduate students enrolling in the school’s Information Systems program, starting in the fall 2023 semester.

Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

We are excited to have joined the Aviation Maintenance Technology SkillBridge program with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and look forward to the opportunity to have veterans and military spouses who have obtained their airframe and powerplant certification join our maintenance team. Service members who live on the island of O‘ahu can learn more about the program in bi-weekly informational briefings at Schofield Barracks.

Career Ambassadors

In 2022, 250 of our employees signed up to become Hawaiian Airlines Career Ambassadors.

Hawaiian Inspires Local Youth To Dream Big At Annual Girls In Aaviation Day

Our volunteers engage with their alma maters and connect with students and community members through storytelling and by sharing their journeys working in various roles at our airline.

Working a job in travel and aviation is as exciting as it gets. For the 8th annual Girls in Aviation Day (Sept. 24, 2022), 60 Hawaiian Airlines employees from across the company volunteered to give a group of 40 future female leaders a glimpse into a career at Hawaii’s hometown carrier.

Girls In Aviation Day

In September 2022, our Wāhine in Aviation Employee Resource Group (ERG) and the Women in Aviation International Aloha Chapter hosted 40 girls ages 12 to 17 and provided a glimpse into careers at Hawaiian. Sixty employees from across our company volunteered at this event, where the group experienced our flight simulators, and learned about various roles in technical operations as well as emergency procedures.

Children’s Discovery Center STEM Camp with Wāhine (Women) in Aviation ERG

Obap Ace Academy

In July, we partnered with the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP) to host 16 middle-to-high-school students enrolled in the nonprofit’s annual Aerospace Center Education (ACE) Academy. Over 40 employees and OBAP members volunteered to give students a tour of our operations, including our pilot and flight attendant training facilities.

CHILDREN’S DISCOVERY CENTER STEM CAMP WITH WAHINE (WOMEN) IN AVIATION ERG

In August, our Wāhine in Aviation ERG was invited back to support the Children’s Discovery Center in Honolulu with a science presentation and hands-on activity with students enrolled in its summer STEM Camp. The children learned about basic physics principles that allow an aircraft to speed up, slow down and change direction, as well as the important role of gravity. Our aviation display at the Children’s Discovery Center has fired the imaginations of children since our maintenance and engineering team redesigned and renovated the exhibit in 2013.

Employee Resource Groups

We embrace our work ‘ohana’s (family) diversity and interests by supporting the following employee resource groups: ASCEND (A Support Community for Employees Nurturing Diverse Abilities); Ha‘aheo (LGBTQA+); Network for Black Employees and Allies (NBEA); Sustainability; Hawaiian Airlines Veterans Employee Network (HAVEN); and Wāhine (Women) in Aviation. We have established and supported these resource groups – which have a combined membership of over 500 employees – to give them a voice in implementing our company’s vision on diversity and to inform the development of our roadmap and goals.

The Hawaiian Airlines Network for Black Employees and Allies ERG led a company-wide celebration for Juneteenth by working with community leaders to host a series of impactful events focused on educating employees and honoring the historical and cultural significance of June 19, 1865.