Sea Life Park in Waimanalo is now hiring as it seeks to staff up before June 1, when it will return to its full opening schedule of seven days a week for the first time since February 2020, the entertainment park said in a statement.
The public is invited to an in-person job fair at the park, 2 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, and a virtual job fair to be held via Zoom from 11 a.m. to noon April 2.
The park has about 30-40 open positions, from aquarium specialists to ticketing agents, said Steve Chang, the park’s human resources manager. Job fair attendees will have a chance to meet the staff, fill out an application and possibly be hired immediately.
“Basically, we consider and take everyone seriously who wants to be a part of the team,” said Chang, who has been with the park since 2014, adding this will be the first time the 60-year-old institution has held a job fair.
The pandemic was challenging, as even when the park was closed, the animals and facilities required constant care from “a skeletal crew,” Chang said, “but some of our finest were able to stay on and assist.”
In its quest for high-quality hires, the ocean amusement park has increased its pay rates in many positions, according to a statement. For example, the aquatics and food-and- beverage departments, which currently have the most job openings, will offer starting hourly pay of $25 and $18, respectively.
Positions in the aquatics and maintenance departments require some experience, but in the food-and-beverage, retail and photo departments, “we’re just asking for people with an upbeat personality and good guest service qualities and are willing to train,” Chang said.
Aquatics covers animal trainers for marine mammals and aquarists who care for sea turtles, sharks, rays, fish and invertebrates. Qualifications typically include a bachelor’s degree in the marine or environmental sciences “or psychology because of the behavior and training aspect,” or internships at similar facilities, Chang said, while aquarists need open water dive certification.
Park admission will be free to attendees of the in-person job fair, for which no pre-registration is required.
To register for the virtual job fair, email Slp-Marketing@PalaceEntertainment.com.
To fill out a job application, visit sealifeparkhawaii.com.
Get a job
Sea Life Park is hosting in-person and virtual job fairs.
>> Cost: Free and open to the public
>> When: 2 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday for the in-person job fair, with free park admission for attendees and no pre-registration required. 11 a.m. to noon April 2 for the virtual job fair; RSVP is required by emailing your name to Slp-Marketing@PalaceEntertainment.com.
>> Where: Sea Life Park, 41-202 Kalanianaole Highway; online via Zoom for virtual job fair
