Seems like the State is considering increasing spending on educators to increase the amount of high-performing jobs in the state. A public hearing is scheduled for 2/4/11.
Summary of proposed Senate Bill 1120
RELATED TO THE ECONOMY.Appropriates funds for the: Hawaii excellence through science and technology academy pilot program; fostering inspiration and relevance through science and technology pre-academy program; robotics and problem-based, applied learning program; research experiences for teachers program; professional development program for public school science and mathematics teachers; business/education internship and mentorship program; incentives for people who hold degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects to obtain teaching certificates through the University of Hawaii's post baccalaureate certificate in secondary education program; project EAST continuation and expansion.
Excerpt from proposed Senate Bill 1120
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that economic growth to benefit all Hawaii residents will require enhancing the State's human resources; and with respect to job creation in high-paying industry sectors, it means that Hawaii must closely track key growth areas within the State's economy and align its residents' skill sets with the needs of businesses in these emerging industries.
For example, the department of business, and economic development, and tourism's "2010 Update Report on Hawaii's Targeted & Emerging Industries" identified the following areas as "high-performing" in comparison with national and local growth trends: scientific research and development (averaging 5.2 per cent job growth between 2002-2010, or nearly 3.3 per cent higher than growth of the same industry group nationally), medical testing, aquaculture, performing and creative arts, spec'ialty health care,' business consulting, design services, technology manufacturing, and computer services. These high-performing jobs in emerging sectors accounted for roughly 69,600 jobs (nine per cent of all civilian jobs in 2010), but the sectors generated twenty per cent of the total gain in jobs for Hawaii's civilian economy, or about 15,000 new jobs between 2002-2010. For about half of the high-performing sectors, the average annual earnings exceeded $50,000 in 2010. While other emerging industry sectors may not have demonstrated the same degree of high-performance growth as the above areas, most of the emerging industries target clusters are growing at rates that are higher than other industry sectors within the State.
