Opportunity Youth
In Hawaiʻi, 1 in 9 young adults ages 16 to 24 – almost 18,000 youth – are not in school and not working. These young adults, often referred to as Opportunity Youth (OY), are navigating one of life’s most critical transitions toward independence, identity, and belonging. They face significant and intersecting challenges such as poverty, housing instability, justice system involvement, or aging out of foster care that can make their journey to adulthood difficult. Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander youth are disproportionately affected, making up nearly half of this group.
One of the key learnings from the OY Program to date is that most of Hawaiʻiʻs Opportunity Youth – 80% – are age 20 or older and face an impossible choice: take low-wage work now to survive, or invest time in building skills with no income. For young adults juggling rent, food, and family, survival almost always wins. The result is a cycle of economic insecurity with no clear way out.
Hawaiʻi has over 100 registered apprenticeship programs — but they were not designed to reach disconnected young adults. What’s missing is a bridge: structured, paid pathways that meet OY where they are and connect them to careers that last. The 2026 OY Program is designed to help address this gap.
Successful workforce pathways require more than technical training alone. Opportunity Youth often benefit from mentorship, navigation, and wraparound supports that address basic needs while fostering belonging, meaning, wellbeing, and purpose. These supports help young people persist in training and successfully transition into employment.
Program Purpose
- Fund with demonstrated experience operating pre-apprenticeship, youth apprenticeship programs, and workforce training programs that let OY earn income while building career skills and industry recognized credentials. Investments will help these organizations intentionally recruit, prepare, and support Opportunity Youth in accessing family-supporting careers.
Support mentorship, navigation, and wraparound services—including housing, transportation, childcare, mental health, and other basic needs—that foster belonging, meaning, wellbeing, and purpose while helping Opportunity Youth persist in workforce pathways and successfully transition into employment.
- Demonstrate effective workforce pathways that connect Opportunity Youth to family-supporting careers—and build a roadmap for expanding these pathways statewide.
Approaches
- Fund organizations with demonstrated experience delivering apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, or workforce training programs that lead directly to employment. Priority will be given to organizations that combine employer partnerships, workforce training, and mentorship or wraparound supports to successfully serve Opportunity Youth.
- Create intentional onramps through pre-apprenticeship and youth apprenticeship programs specifically designed for out-of-school young adults – filling a gap that in-school programs are not positioned to address.
- Build clear pathways from pre-apprenticeship and youth apprenticeship into Hawaiʻiʻs 100+ state-registered apprenticeship programs and other workforce training programs – unlocking credentials, livable wages, and long-term career stability for OY who complete the program.
Program Funding
Invitation Only: Invitation will be based on demonstrated experience operating apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, or workforce training programs that lead directly to employment, and an organization’s ability to intentionally adapt or expand these proven workforce pathways to better serve Opportunity Youth.
Budget: Grant size and duration will vary based on project scope, organizational capacity, and strategic alignment with the Foundation’s Opportunity Youth strategy.
Timeline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis with board consideration following each deadline:
- April 24, 2026 — board will consider proposal in May
- August 7, 2026 — board will consider proposal in September
- October 23, 2026 — board will consider proposal in November
