Honolulu launches AI training program for O‘ahu businesses, nonprofits

https://alohastatedaily.com/2026/05/22/honolulu-launches-ai-training-program-for-oahu-businesses-nonprofits/

Publish Date: 2026-05-22 21:39:00

Source Domain: alohastatedaily.com

The City and County of Honolulu’s Office of Economic Revitalization (OER), in collaboration with Māpunawai and Skilled Tomorrow, is launching “AI for Everyone at Work: Training Trainers to Teach Across Generations,” a pilot program aimed at helping small businesses and nonprofits on O‘ahu to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into their operations.
The initiative uses a “train-the-trainer” model to provide free one-day training sessions designed for leaders to educate their employees on AI, focusing on practical and responsible implementation.
Participants must commit to conducting at least two internal training sessions within six months after the initial training, learning about AI fundamentals, applicable use cases, prompt-writing frameworks, and responsible AI teaching strategies for multigenerational teams.
The program emphasizes ensuring AI’s benefits reach the island’s high older-adult labor participation rate, aiming to retain employees past retirement age by equipping them with AI skills.
The program targets organizations with five to 50 employees, focusing particularly on human resources, management, learning and development, or team leadership roles, stressing no prior AI experience is needed but participants must have a supportive letter from organizational leadership.
Participants will gain the skills to introduce AI as a support tool rather than a replacement, fostering sustainable, cost-effective, and adaptive workplace environments.
The initiative aims to build in-house training capacity and thus reduce reliance on external consultants, creating a ripple effect of AI literacy and knowledge dissemination within participating organizations.
Applications close on May 27, with a cohort of 12 being chosen by June 3. Those not initially selected but qualified will be placed on a waitlist.