UH Maui offers Molokaʻi small engine repair course for Kalaupapa residents

Staff from the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College Molokaʻi Education Center travel to Kalaupapa at least once a year to share programming with residents and offer application assistance. 

“During these visits we also gather input on what types of education programs they are interested in,” said UH Maui College, Molokaʻi Coordinator Kelley Dudoit. “The employees expressed interest in a hands-on small engine repair course so they can learn how to fix the equipment they work with.”

And so, for three Wednesdays last month, 15 Kalaupapa residents gathered with Construction Technology Program Lecturer Lloyd Inouye to learn how to do exactly that.

Staff note that there are so many benefits to the participants in addition to being able to fix their equipment. It upskills the workforce, reduces waste, saves funds by fixing existing equipment rather than buying new, participants learn skills that benefit their lives outside of work, it reduces delays in waiting for equipment to be fixed, and it maximizes productivity.

“This is the best college class I’ve taken,” said Rose Dudoit, one of the students. “The teacher was awesome. Many of us learn better through hands-on learning as opposed to traditional classroom instruction.”

UHMC coordinators say that by every measure, the course was a great success.

“We were thrilled to be able to offer this class to the workforce in Kalaupapa,” said Kelley Dudoit.  “We realize that access to our programs may be difficult because residents spend most of their week in the settlement. It made sense to take the class to them. We’re grateful to the instructor, Lloyd Inouye, for his willingness to travel to the settlement to teach the course. We hope to be able to continue to strengthen our partnership and continue offering classes like these.”