About Us
About the Manufacturing Institute
The workforce solution for manufacturers
Our Mission: Building and strengthening the manufacturing workforce of today and tomorrow.
The Manufacturing Institute helps build a manufacturing workforce prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. Through implementing groundbreaking programs, convening industry leaders and conducting innovative research, the MI furthers individual opportunity, community prosperity and a more competitive manufacturing industry.
The challenge we solve
Finding and keeping skilled people
Ask manufacturers what keeps them up at night, and the answer is rarely the machines on the floor. It’s finding and keeping the skilled people running them today and building the next generation of professionals who will run them tomorrow.
These challenges determine whether a manufacturer can grow, compete and lead. Left unaddressed, manufacturers could see 1.9 million jobs go unfilled by 2033, according to our study with Deloitte.
The Manufacturing Institute exists to help manufacturers solve these challenges, securing individual opportunity, community prosperity and the industry’s long-term competitiveness.
The scale of the challenge:
Source: The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte skills gap study, 2024.
Who we are
The authority on the manufacturing workforce
The Manufacturing Institute is the authority on manufacturing workforce development and education—and the trusted adviser manufacturers rely on for solutions to their toughest talent challenges.
As the 501(c)(3) workforce development and education affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers, we translate decades of hands-on experience into strategies, programs and tools that work on the factory floor, not just on paper.
How we help
Attract. Train. Retain.
We organize everything we do around the workforce challenges manufacturers actually face: getting talent in the door, keeping the best of it, and building the skills the industry needs next.
Attract
Inspiring the next generation of manufacturing talent
We change how people see manufacturing careers and open clear pathways in. That means reshaping outdated perceptions of the industry, engaging students long before they choose a career and helping manufacturers grow their own talent pipelines. The result: a wider pool of people who want to build things.
Train
Building the skills that power modern manufacturing
We help manufacturers close the skills gap with employer-driven training built around real industry demand—apprenticeship pathways, credentials that translate experience into verified skills and accelerated routes into high-skill, hard-to-fill roles. Employers stay in the driver’s seat, so the talent that comes out matches the talent they need.
Retain
Strengthening culture and engagement to keep top talent
Hiring is only half the equation. We help manufacturers build the culture, engagement practices and recognition that keep skilled people—and turn jobs into careers. From proven retention playbooks to leadership development and recognition that elevates role models across the industry, we give high performers a reason to stay and grow.
Why it works
Proven alongside manufacturers
Our model isn’t theory—it’s built and proven alongside the manufacturers who use it, and independently validated.
Source: McKinsey & Company, 2025.
How we work
Convening the people who move the needle
The hardest workforce problems aren’t solved in isolation. The MI works by convening the people who can actually move the needle—manufacturers, educators, economic development leaders, communities and philanthropic partners—around shared solutions. That convening power is what lets proven approaches scale from one plant to an entire industry.
Your workforce challenge has a solution.
Whether you’re trying to fill open roles, keep the talent you have or build the skills you need next, the Manufacturing Institute can help.
