{"id":19882,"date":"2025-09-02T11:58:32","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T21:58:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/?p=19882"},"modified":"2025-09-02T12:03:48","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T22:03:48","slug":"growing-confidence-with-kiapu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/growing-confidence-with-kiapu\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing Confidence with K\u012b\u02bbapu"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With encouragement from her mom, Rayjia joined the K\u012b\u02bbapu<\/a> program to build confidence in herself and her future. As a high school senior, Rayjia found the prospect of job searching intimidating and believed few opportunities existed for someone like her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her concerns reflect a broader challenge across Hawai\u02bbi: while 86% of the class of 2024 graduated on time, many students lack consistent career guidance. This gap is critical, as 70% of Hawai\u02bbi’s job openings by 2031 are projected to require education or training beyond high school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our Solution<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Through one-on-one mentorship with Niki, a K\u012b\u02bbapu Workforce Development Specialist, Rayjia built essential skills\u2014crafting her resume and practicing mock interviews. This professional support prepared her for the 2025 Career Expo at the Neal Blaisdell Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K\u012b\u02bbapu provides wraparound support for youth (ages 14-24) in the Leeward\/Windward O\u02bbahu and Moloka\u02bbi communities by establishing a network of collaborative partners to provide career and technical education, workforce development, and positive mentorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Witnessing Transformation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the bustling Career Expo, surrounded by dozens of employers, Rayjia discovered her voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“This is not something that I would typically go to, but Niki gave me the opportunity to come here and I’m glad she did. Now I found a really good school that I’m thinking of going to.”<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\"Rayjia
Rayjia (second from left), her mother (second from right), and friends at the 2025 Honolulu Career Expo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The shy teenager who once avoided conversations was now confidently networking and exploring career paths. Her mother, witnessing this transformation, beamed with pride: “In the beginning she was shy and didn’t want to talk to anyone. But seeing her go out there on her own and talk to people is super big. I am confident that she will strive in anything she wants to do.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Measurable Impact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since the beginning of the program, K\u012b\u02bbapu has served over 340 teens and young adults.<\/strong> Through program initiatives and support from the K\u012b\u02bbapu staff, 243 youth have submitted job applications<\/strong>. What makes this program unique is the individualized support that each youth has the opportunity to receive by completing Interest\/Needs\/Career Path assessments and co-developing personalized plans and goals. In total, 572 Interest\/Needs\/Career Path assessments and 352 personalized plans\/goals have been collected.<\/strong> By empowering youth with skills and support while strengthening their sense of belonging, we are cultivating the future economic prosperity for Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K\u012b\u02bbapu provides a safe space for students to explore career pathways, reconnect with culture, and engage in community service learning. With mentors like Niki, questions transform into possibilities\u2014and possibilities become plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are a youth (ages 14-24) looking for workforce readiness skills or a community member looking to connect with motivated young individuals who are ready for employment opportunities, contact K\u012b\u02bbapu today<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With encouragement from her mom, Rayjia joined the K\u012b\u02bbapu program to build confidence in herself and her future. As a high school senior, Rayjia found the prospect of job searching…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":19890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[555],"tags":[559,560,558,465,556,561,557],"class_list":["post-19882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kiapu","tag-academic-achievement","tag-career-fair","tag-career-readiness","tag-community-events","tag-kiapu","tag-opportunities-for-youth","tag-workforce-development"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19882"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19889,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19882\/revisions\/19889"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pidf.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}