Above: Forged by Valor is a demanding welding program designed to create highly skilled and sought-after welders.
February, 2026- Companies deal with disruptions every day from small blips to extraordinary complications. A report from the University of Tennessee Knoxville Global Supply Chain Institute, written by Alan Amling and Darrell Edwards, points out that “supply chains have dealt with a few extraordinary disruptions over recent decades. Among them are the computer transformation of Y2K in 1999, the Great Recession spawned by the housing crisis from 2007 to 2009, and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. These extraordinary supply chain disruptions affect the central nervous system of an entire organization.”
Amling and Edwards point out that one of the next large disruptions may be a global trade war. Companies already are re-evaluating the length of their supply chains and considering reshoring or nearshoring to regain control. However, “while reshoring sentiment may be on the rise, a firm’s willingness and ability to act are constrained by a profound and persistent labor skills gap.”
The competition for skilled labor is fierce. The top concern for more than a third of the 600 manufacturing executives in a 2025 survey from Deloitte was “equipping workers with the skills and knowledge they need to maximize the potential of smart manufacturing and operations,” especially if the trend toward reshoring accelerates. The consultancy also noted that long lead times required to hire and train new workers can make it difficult to effectively respond to economic uncertainty.
Deloitte’s research suggests a “build, buy or borrow” framework for workforce planning investing in talent (including non-wage investments), recruiting external personnel and hiring temporary workers can help manufacturers remain agile. “Companies that can remain focused on the long-term goal of creating a world-class workforce, while also managing potential uncertainty and volatility in 2026, may gain a substantial advantage over their competitors.”
POSITIVE PRESS
“Attracting workers starts by telling a better story about manufacturing,” says Justin Brooks, deputy director of workforce development at the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI). “Companies need to show that these are high-tech, mission-driven careers, not outdated factory jobs. That means highlighting competitive wages, modern facilities, advanced technologies like digital simulation and automation, and the role manufacturing plays in national security, infrastructure and innovation.”
In October 2025, the Manufacturing Institute’s annual Workforce Summit united more than 300 industry leaders to highlight the shift in public perception toward the industry and the new opportunities for skills-based careers in modern manufacturing. At the summit, ABB’s Jason Green emphasized the need to get technology into the hands of students early and to reimagine career and technical education, including real-world learning and applications, pointing out that apprenticeships built on company needs can help create talent pipelines that are both practical and custom-fit.
At the same event, Lisa Winton of Winton Machine explained why she views culture as a competitive advantage, especially for small manufacturers. Her team leverages local training resources and encourages multigenerational learning, where mentorship flows both ways.
ABB’s Brooks notes that employees stay when they see a “clear career path and feel valued,” and the most effective strategies being continuous learning and tuition reimbursement, mentorship and leadership development programs, clear promotion tracks from the shop floor to engineering and management, and connecting daily work to a larger purpose. “Companies that treat retention as a strategy, not a hope, consistently outperform those focused only on filling today’s openings.”
A Penn State student participates in a METAL bootcamp.
In addition to welding techniques, Forged by Valor emphasizes a strong foundation in the theoretical knowledge required for success.
THE NEXT GENERATION
Early exposure to the manufacturing industry “helps students see [it] as creative, handson and impactful, not intimidating or out of reach,” says Brooks. He notes that by the time they reach middle school, many students already have ruled careers in or out, “often based on misconceptions.”
METAL’s K-12 initiatives are designed to spark interest in STEM fields and potential future careers in the industry.
Led by IACMI, METAL (Metallurgical Engineering Trade Apprenticeships and Learning) seeks to cultivate a resilient domestic workforce capable of sustaining and advancing the U.S.’s casting and forging capabilities through 2050. METAL’s approach begins with igniting young minds through immersive K-12 workshops where students participate in hands-on activities such as demonstrating the principles of forging and casting their own small metal objects using low-temperature alloys.
“METAL’s K-12 workshops are about planting awareness and confidence,” Brooks says, noting that it’s important for students to understand how things are made and see people like themselves in these roles. “If companies want a workforce 10 years from now, that engagement must happen today.”
Multiple participants have attended METAL in-person bootcamps, often with little or no prior exposure to metals, and gone on to secure jobs or internships in casting and forging facilities or enroll in related technical and engineering programs, says Lucinda Curry, METAL National Workforce Manager. For many, including David Muzzy and William Goehl, “that experience becomes the turning point that transforms manufacturing from an abstract idea into a viable, exciting career path.”
Muzzy attended a METAL bootcamp at Pennsylvania State University, then became a fulltime manufacturing engineer at Buck Co.’s Iron foundry, and Goehl joined a weeklong METAL bootcamp while studying mechanical engineering at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. He was hired almost immediately after by Howmet Aerospace.
DEVELOP SKILLS INTERNALLY
Construction company Adena Corp., Mansfield, Ohio, has first-hand knowledge of the region’s skilled labor shortage and has made significant in-house investments in apprenticeship programs in response. In late October, the company formed a partnership with Industrial Training International to establish an ITI Training Center in Lakeland, Florida. “While many education systems struggle to produce job-ready technicians, Adena is taking a proactive approach by investing directly in workforce development,” said Randy A. Payne, CEO and president, Adena Corp.
The facility will provide a blend of practical instruction and classroom learning, with both indoor and outdoor spaces set up for students to learn safety protocols and gain handson experience with real crane and rigging setups.
“Our hands-on, workshop-style classes led by industry experts ensure that crane, rigging and lifting professionals can acquire essential skills in a safe and controlled environment which is challenging to master in normal working environments,” ITI COO Andrew Kauser said in a statement. “The partnership with Adena is a natural fit, as their commitment to excellence in workforce development aligns with our own.”
FINDING A NEW MISSION
Veterans are well positioned to succeed in manufacturing careers because they have skills, talents and training that are highly valued in the industry, according to the Manufacturing Institute.
Scott Quick started out as a full-time welder/fabricator and mechanic in the New York Army National Guard but volunteered for active duty service after 9/11, serving with the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He was deployed five times as an Airborne Infantrymen and Ranger Qualified.
After his term of service expired in 2009, he joined the Army National Guard and went to college but he quit three credits shy of an accounting degree. “All my trauma finally blew up,” he says. “A random officer in the Pentagon told me to put my pride in my pocket, think of myself and my family and seek help. I drove to the Veterans Outreach Center, walked in the door and asked, ‘Can I talk to somebody?”
Workshop-style classes led by industry experts ensure that professionals can acquire essential skills in a safe environment.
That set him on the path to a welding career. He began taking welding courses at Rochester Arc + Flame Center where he met Ben Corke. Corke was a corporal in the Marine Corps and served as an aviation ordnance technician working on weapons systems for F/A-18 Hornets. After discharge, he received a philosophy degree and was contemplating a Ph.D. when he connected with a fellow veteran who was attending welding school. He realized a welding career fit well with his mechanical background, as it provided a combination of understanding a process and having a skill to make things.
Since meeting, Corke and Quick have each earned certified welding inspector credentials from the American Welding Society and have become instructors. Corke also works full-time as a welding engineer at ITT Goulds Pumps. The two also created Forged by Valor, a Rochester, N.Y.- based nonprofit that offers an 800-hour welding education program and has been approved for a grant to support 24 veterans over two years.
“Our goal isn’t to train someone to just weld,” says Corke. “We want to create future leaders in the welding industry because we know the demand that’s out there right now. We take a proactive approach and want to create welders that can become welding leads and supervisors.”
KEEPING SKILLS IN HOUSE
Once workers are hired and trained, retention is the next priority “to safeguard profitability and stability,” according to the Work Institute’s 2025 Retention Report. “Turnover isn’t just a human resources challenge; it’s a financial and operational risk. Preventable turnover driven by career stagnation, work-life balance issues and management issues accounted for 63 percent of all exits in 2024.”
The report notes that although managers are a crucial component of employee experience, management-related turnover has hit a six-year high, and organizations “need to empower managers with training and resources to foster trust, engagement and retention.” Leading causes of turnover in all types of positions include career-related reasons and work-life balance concerns. “Early attrition comprises roughly 40 percent of all turnover and underscores the need for robust onboarding, tailored support and earlystage engagement strategies to maximize new-hire potential.”
Technology is a valuable tool for “identifying, attracting, developing and retaining talented workers,” says Adam Grabowski, director of marketing for Global Shop Solutions. “Techniques such as sophisticated recruitment tools, personalized learning platforms, and performance analytics catch the attention of job seekers looking for the right job in manufacturing’s technology-driven work environment.
Remote work capabilities and data-driven decision-making offer a highly engaging work environment for those who want to use their diverse skill sets to full advantage.”
Grabowski says that more manufacturers are using AI to match the right people with the right jobs as well as deliver an employee experience to retain top talent and build a culture of ongoing learning and development. “Talented workers want an environment that offers opportunities to innovate, improve efficiency via automation and explore new technologies to further advance the company’s products, capabilities and bottom line,” he says.
In addition, skilled workers also value flexible environments supported by solutions and cloud-based tools that help them stay on top of trends. “When manufacturers equip workers with the proper tools to provide the best results, they signal to talent that they value job satisfaction and keeping up with changing technology.”
However, “no matter how advanced the design, simulation or AI tool, physical products still require skilled hands and minds to produce them at scale and to specification,” says Mike Kubacki, METAL program manager. “Nuclear reactors, hypersonics, commercial ships, semiconductors and next-generation aerospace platforms all depend on casting, forging and machining. Building America’s next-generation metal manufacturing workforce requires multiple pathways.”
