A series of free social media and business technology classes will be offered this month and next across the island as part of an initiative to increase and improve the skills of Hawaii Island’s workforce.
A series of free social media and business technology classes will be offered this month and next across the island as part of an initiative to increase and improve the skills of Hawaii Island’s workforce.
The classes are sponsored by Hawaii Tech Works and Hawaii Workforce Economic Development Ohana, which received a grant from the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.
The classes are designed for business owners and their employees to learn new tools that support business growth, efficiency and customer relationships, said Anthony Marzi, president and founder of Hawaii Tech Works.
Noting that technology in today’s business climate is rapidly changing, Marzi says it can be frustrating and expensive for business owners when they cannot find workers with requisite job skills.
“Many of these capabilities didn’t even exist a few years ago,” Marzi said.
“It’s a constant effort for companies to stay competitive, but it pays off.”
Marzi founded Hawaii Tech Works in 2012 as a way to bring together design and tech professionals on Hawaii Island. As part of their outreach and collaboration efforts, the organization provides co-working space at their Hilo location and has sponsored “Tech Tuesdays,” a series of monthly gatherings in which they bring together a broad spectrum of designers, creators and others in the technology field.
Marzi sees the classes as a natural extension of increasing technology-related skills for Big Island residents.
“For example, when visitors can find local businesses on Yelp, or when businesses streamline their administrative workload with cloud services, everyone wins,” he said.
As part of the grant, 51 different classes will be offered ranging from social media branding and using WordPress, to cloud accounting and building a mobile app for a participant’s company. Classes are conducted in Hilo at the Hawaii Tech Works office with some classes offered in Kona and Waimea in subsequent weeks.
The “Creating Your Personal and Business Social Media Brand” class is scheduled for 9-11 a.m. today at Thelma Parker Library in Waimea followed by “Top 5 Ways Businesses Use Social Media Wrong” from 12:30-2:30 p.m.
Denise Laitinen, owner of DLC Hawaii Media, teaches the classes. Laitinen has organized several social media events on island in recent years and is a member of the Social Media Club Hawaii board of directors. She’s taught social media classes at Hawaii Community College and provided training for Bishop Museum, the state House of Representatives, University of Hawaii and other organizations.
Registration for the classes is required. Seating is limited per class because of the in-depth hands-on training each attendee receives.
For a full list of social media and technology business classes, visit hiwedo.wordpress.com or contact Stuart Kaneshiro at HIWEDO, 936-7145, or email stuart@hiwedohawaii.org.