HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

184

TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

rEQUESTING THE UNIVERSITY OF hAWAII, WEST OAHU, to COLLABORATE WITH THE STATE PROCUREMENT OFFICE TO EXPLORE, COLLECT data, AND REPORT ON THE VIABILITY OF A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PILOT PROGRAM IN THE FIELD OF PROCUREMENT.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, procurement can be a powerful tool in the State for cost savings, budgeting, and, more importantly, providing the community with needed goods, services, and infrastructure; and

 

     WHEREAS, with expenditures of over $1,000,000,000 per annum for the Executive Branch alone, procurement must be taken into account at the strategic planning level; and

 

     WHEREAS, to establish procurement at a strategic level, agencies must acknowledge the procurement workforce as a set of professionals.  If procurement is not seen as a professional career field, then the result may be waste, fraud, and abuse; and

 

     WHEREAS, with a limited pool of qualified candidates and insufficient funding, the struggle to acquire or retain adequate staffing levels is alarmingly high; for example, the current vacancy rate of purchasing positions at the State Procurement Office is 43 per cent; and

 

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii, West Oahu, offers a variety of first and second-year college credit classes in liberal arts, education, business careers, and technical areas; and

 

     WHEREAS, there are two types of strategies for workforce development:

     (1)  Place-based strategies attempt to address the needs of individuals living in a particular neighborhood; and

 

     (2)  Sector-based strategies focus on matching worker skills with an industry's needs; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State Procurement Office is in desperate need of workforce development initiatives; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, the Senate concurring, that the University of Hawaii, West Oahu, collaborate with the State Procurement Office to:

 

     (1)  Explore, collect data, and report on the viability of a Workforce Development Pilot Program in the field of procurement;

 

     (2)  Determine the educational requirements for a robust certification program; and

 

     (3)  Explore the possibility of a partnership between the University of Hawaii, West Oahu, and the State Procurement Office for workforce development; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Hawaii, West Oahu, and Administrator of the State Procurement Office collaborate to submit their findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the Regular Session of 2017; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Administrator of the State Procurement Office, President of the University of Hawaii, Board of Regents, and Chancellor of the University of Hawaii, West Oahu.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

Report Title: 

University of Hawaii, West Oahu; State Procurement Office