{"id":236079,"date":"2026-06-16T07:29:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T17:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=236079"},"modified":"2026-06-15T22:56:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T08:56:51","slug":"ai-pcatt-hawaii-workforce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/06\/16\/ai-pcatt-hawaii-workforce\/","title":{"rendered":"AI<\/abbr> for Action and Impact: PCATT<\/abbr> helps future-proof Hawaiʻi\u2019s workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Free
Dave Free<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the economy rapidly evolves through artificial intelligence (AI<\/abbr>), the Pacific Center for Advanced Technology Training (PCATT<\/abbr>) is bolstering local workforce readiness. The University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> Community College consortium hosted the PCATT<\/abbr> AI<\/abbr> Summit 2026: AI<\/abbr> for Action and Impact at the Ala Moana Hotel June 4–5, bringing together industry leaders, educators and ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½<\/abbr> professionals to tackle the evolving technological landscape.<\/p>\n

\"Two
Free with Professor Monir Hodges<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Celebrating PCATT<\/abbr>‘s 25th anniversary, the summit focused on four core pillars: Trust in AI<\/abbr>, AI<\/abbr> & The Future of Work, Public\/Social Interest in AI<\/abbr>, and The Mechanics of AI<\/abbr>. The event emphasized the necessity of collaboration between local businesses and schools to advance AI<\/abbr> literacy and create stable economic pathways in the islands.<\/p>\n

ÌÇÐÄVlog¹Ù·½<\/abbr> System Senior Advisor to the President Kim Siegenthaler opened the gathering, emphasizing how artificial intelligence is actively reshaping Hawaiʻi<\/span>‘s economy and workforce alignment.<\/p>\n

Keynote speakers included Chris Barton, creator of Shazam (a breakthrough music recognition mobile application), and Dave Free of the Cisco Networking Academy, who offered strategies for innovation and adapting education training to rapid technological change.<\/p>\n

Building a resilient workforce<\/h2>\n
\"Barton
Chris Barton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“I was inspired by the discussions on finding the balance between leveraging AI<\/abbr>‘s power while maintaining ethical standards and human connection,” said attendee Alexi Drouin. “As AI<\/abbr> continues to change how we learn and work, it’s clear that our adaptability and human insights are more valuable than ever.”<\/p>\n

For industry experts, the summit highlighted the necessity of bridging the gap between classroom training and real-world application.<\/p>\n

\"Lee
Honolulu CC<\/abbr> Chancellor Karen Lee welcoming attendees<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Attending the PCATT<\/abbr> AI<\/abbr> Summit was an incredible opportunity to engage with Hawaiʻi<\/span>‘s tech educators and industry leaders,” noted Branden Baker of Intech Hawaiʻi<\/span>. “Discussing how we can safely leverage AI<\/abbr> to build a resilient workforce and diversify Hawaiʻi<\/span>‘s economy is vital to our collective future.”<\/p>\n

Lakshanya Krishnarajan, a healthcare IT<\/abbr> professional, added, “The sessions provided deep insights into how AI<\/abbr> is transforming education, cybersecurity and workforce development. From learning about trust in AI<\/abbr> models to seeing real-world demos of how we can build practical digital prototypes, this summit provided actionable steps to bring back to our community.”<\/p>\n

\"Smiling
Barton with PCATT<\/abbr> Team<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Local leaders explored AI<\/abbr> and the future of work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":236094,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[1602,749,61,62,63,64,65,890,71,60,947,66,603],"class_list":["post-236079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-ai","tag-cybersecurity","tag-hawaii-community-college","tag-honolulu-community-college","tag-kapiolani-community-college","tag-kauai-community-college","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-pacific-center-for-advanced-technology-training","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-maui-college","tag-uh-system","tag-windward-community-college","tag-workforce-development","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/uh-comm-coll-pcatt-ai-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236079"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236152,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236079\/revisions\/236152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}