Staff say Maui Job Corps’ urgent enrollment goal is to keep program alive

Maui’s only free live-in career training program for young adults is asking the community to help spread the word: Maui Job Corps Center in Makawao is open, enrolling and needs new students to stay active.

The center recently set an ambitious goal of enrolling 100 students by Christmas, after going seven months without new enrollees due to a US Department of Labor pause on background checks that created a backlog of applicants.

Now reopened, the Maui Job Corps must rebuild its student base and restore the program to pre-pandemic levels to secure its future, staff said on Tuesday.

According to Dr. David Wittenberg, a long-time mental health consultant for the Maui Job Corps Center, about 70 or more enrollees are needed to reach that goal, which was set by Management & Training Corporation (MTC) to sustain the program that has operated on Maui since 1989.

The Makawao campus provides lodging with three co-ed dorms, a full-service cafeteria serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, a store with snacks and essentials, health services, a lounge and a computer lab. Students begin the day with career training and academic classes and have time in the evening for studying, tutoring, working out and socializing, according to MTC.

The Maui campus serves people ages 16 to 24 seeking hands-on career training in construction, business, finance and hospitality. Wittenberg told Maui Now that Job Corps is often a lifeline for young people who have struggled in school or need a second chance to learn a trade.

“It’s the only program on the island that offers that kind of second chance,” he said.

Earlier this year, the Department of Labor-funded program survived almost being shut down due to decisions made at the federal level. In the wake of that, it now faces entirely separate enrollment problems.

Enrollment at the Maui campus currently is less than half what it needs to be, according to Wittenberg. He said the program’s recent instability—from pandemic shutdowns to changing federal policies—among other things have made it difficult to maintain high enrollment. Before the pandemic, he said the center often operated at its full capacity of around 128 students, sometimes with a waiting list.

“We need to get the coconut wireless going again to save our program,” Wittenberg said.

Referrals to Maui Job Corps can be made by parents or guardians, school counselors, disaster recovery case managers, nonprofits, church groups or anyone who knows a young person ready for change. Visit maui.jobcorps.gov or contact the admissions team at oneill.daniel@jobcorps.org or 808-579-6506 to make a referral.

Job Corps provides housing, meals, transportation, and support services—all at no cost across more than 120 campuses nationwide. Students at the Maui Job Corps Center can train for careers in construction, business, finance and hospitality.

There is also a Hawai‘i Job Corps Center in Waimānalo, Oʻahu, that offers additional fields such as healthcare, automotive repair, homeland security and renewable energy.

“Job Corps is open and ready to train young workers in skills that are in high demand,” said Jeff Barton, senior vice president of education & training for Management & Training Corporation, in a recent announcement. “This is an incredible opportunity for young people to launch stable, rewarding careers—and we need the community’s help to get the word out.”

For more information or to apply, visit maui.jobcorps.gov. A 360-degree virtual tour of the 12-acre campus in Makawao is available online.