Honolulu's top employers rely upon a workforce of business trade school grads to keep their operations moving. With a predicted 24 percent increase in jobs in this sector through 2010, it's a great time to study with a Hawaii-based trade or technical school.

By Gabby Hyman
RWM Columnist
November 02, 2006

Hawaii has a diversity of culture practically unmatched in the continental United States. If you already live in Oahu or plan on moving, there's a lot to learn about the local culture and how to do business on the island. Conventional office skills certainly apply here, but "aloha spirit" applies to the way everyone does business. That's why if you're interested in mastering skills for work at the island's tourism, import/export marketing, economics, finance, health care, or office management trades, it's best to learn them in a local vocational or technical school.

The good news is that there are highly accredited, conveniently located trade schools on Oahu - many of them right in Honolulu - that offer accelerated certificate and degree programs in business. For example, a local trade school offers a 24-month associate in applied science degree in international business that trains grads for entry-level positions across the varied, cross-cultural Hawaiian business landscape.

Hawaiian Vocational Business Schools Offer Key Curriculum
You'll find Hawaiian business school programs that get you into office vocations quickly. No matter the industry, most Hawaiian companies require skilled workers who can step in as accounting clerks, bookkeepers, and computer data processors. Honolulu-area business trade and technical schools offer software classes that support the tourism and booking vocations, as well as office publishing applications and database management that keep all the trades afloat.

If you’re looking to advance in your profession, there are trade schools offering advanced, bachelor's-level degrees in business with specializations in accounting or administration. One school hosts five campus locations on Oahu, with undergraduate business programs in finance, accounting, marketing, and management.

Business Trades Keep Growing
State of Hawaii Department of Labor (DOL) has predicted that the business services professions in Honolulu County alone will rise by 24 percent by 2012. In Honolulu last year, the mean salary for working office administrators topped $48,000, according to the DOL. Entry level bookkeeping and accounting clerks earned over $31,000. The DOL reports that the top ten employers in Honolulu County include hospitals, banks, military facilities, and airline companies. All of these trades hire business grads to work in critical billing, accounting, and records divisions. Schoffield Barracks has more than 10,000 employees, followed by the Bank of Hawaii, Queens Medical Center, Aloha Airlines, and Queens Medical Center - each with as many as 5,000 employees.

Source
State of Hawaii Department of Labor

About the Author
Gabby Hyman has created online strategies and written content for Fortune 500 companies including eToys, GoTo.com, Siebel Systems, Microsoft Encarta, Avaya, and Nissan UK.