Manufacturers are adopting and integrating AI and need to ensure the workforce is prepared to work collaboratively with AI. Explore how manufacturers and organizations are thinking innovatively about closing this critical skills gap.

Level One – Foundational
Employers can’t sit on the sidelines expecting others to solve the skills gap. Textron Aviation has been strongly investing in workforce and training, culminating in the creation of the company’s new Career & Learning Center (CLC) in 2024. Creating a great employee experience meant revamping inquiry, application, hiring, onboarding, training and support. Discover four zones: Career, Preemployment, Learning, and Design Build Fly. New training gives employees confidence via hands-on and role-specific training, and a simulated manufacturing floor. Inspiring students and educators are available with age-appropriate design, build, fly activities that range from balsa gliders to flying a Cessna Skyhawk simulator, the world’s most popular trainer aircraft. Go on the journey of workforce and training transformation as we share about lessons learned. This session will be insightful for those seeking inspiration on K-12 outreach, recruitment marketing, hiring, training and onboarding.

• Michele Gifford, HR Director, Textron Aviation
• Jennifer Whitfield, HR Director, Textron Aviation

Level Three – Advanced
This session will focus on strategic discussions regarding the path our FAME chapter took to develop community-based partnerships that are critical to enhancing the image of manufacturing in our community and pipeline development. Toyotetsu Texas will take a deep dive into the return on investment of establishing an industry sector partnership and the benefits of proactively engaging in the workforce development, education, and economic development ecosystem. We will highlight the tangible and intangible returns that member companies have experienced by investing time, talent, and resources into collaborative workforce solutions. We will also showcase how the collective ROI of these partnerships extends beyond individual companies. This session will provide attendees with insights on how aligning workforce development strategies with economic and educational objectives can yield high-impact results not just for companies, but for the community as a whole.

• Leslie Cantu, Vice President, Toyotetsu

Level Three – Advanced
Manufacturers often struggle with onboarding programs that are too generic or disconnected from the realities of the shop floor. Golden Aluminum‘s session offers a practical approach to designing skills-based onboarding using structured job analysis. By identifying the specific knowledge and skills required in each department, you can create onboarding experiences that are relevant, targeted, and more effective at building job-ready employees. Attendees will learn how to conduct a simple, scalable job analysis to uncover things like responsibilities and process, and use that data to shape onboarding content, hands-on activities, and evaluation. We’ll share a real-world example from a manufacturing facility that redesigned its onboarding process based on job analysis findings—resulting in faster time-to-competency, clearer training expectations, and improved early retention. This session is ideal for those seeking actionable strategies to improve onboarding and align training with workforce needs.

• Danielle Suprick, Training and Development Leader, Golden Aluminum

Level Two – Practical
Across the United States, K-12 STEM educators are in high demand and short supply. Shaw Industries and Dalton State College have partnered together to implement a Manufacturing Externship model that is part of the required curriculum for aspiring STEM Teachers. Attend this workshop to learn how you can replicate this model in your community!

• Brian Cooksey, Director Workforce Development, Shaw Industries Group
• Randall Griffus, Dean, Dalton State
• Sharon Hixon, Dean, Dalton State

Level Two – Practical
Manufacturers can no longer rely on reactive hiring or lament the lack of “shop classes.” The skills gap persists not from lack of interest—but from industry’s slow evolution. The Boeing Company will help companies of all sizes to rethink their role—moving from sharing one person’s input at advisory boards to deeply understanding the learning outcomes of programs with transferable skills. Attendees will learn how to partner across sectors to map those outcomes to job-specific competencies and proficiency needs—using data to better align career and tech education with real jobs. We’ll explore how even one or two dedicated staff at small and midsize companies can make an impact by building strategic relationships with larger firms and tapping into shared community pipelines. Larger manufacturers will be called to share—not silo—their resources in service of a sustainable talent ecosystem. This session delivers a practical, scalable model for resilient workforce pipelines.

• Tia Rivera, Senior Manager, Workforce Development, The Boeing Company

Nearly one-third of skilled trades workers are nearing retirement, skill demands are shifting, and challenges in engagement and retention persist. Labor productivity has grown just 0.5% annually from 2015–2020, while outdated perceptions of vocational careers continue to constrain the talent pipeline. To address this, manufacturing leaders must prioritize talent transformation with the same discipline applied to capital investment. A “G-3” model – bringing together Operations, Finance, and HR – can align workforce strategy with business performance. Scalable, tech-enabled workforce solutions, skills-based hiring, and targeted upskilling programs can unlock $17K–$34K in value per FTE. By embracing their workforce as a core competitive advantage, manufacturers can stabilize their current operations while reimagining talent strategies to support long-term growth and resilience.

• Tyler Freeman, Associate Partner, McKinsey
• Hannah KitzMiller, Engagement Manager – McKinsey
• Nick Mellors, Partner, McKinsey

As manufacturers face growing challenges in attracting and retaining skilled talent, apprenticeship is emerging as a powerful, proven solution. In this session, panelists will explore apprenticeship models and the partnerships that drive their success. The conversation will unpack the nuances of state-level systems and incentives, the federal emphasis on registered apprenticeship and offer insights into how employers evaluate a program’s return on investment. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of how apprenticeship can be tailored to meet their workforce needs, and actionable ideas for launching or expanding programs in their own facilities.

• Layel Burton, Apprenticeship Coordinator, ZIEHL-ABEGG Inc.
• Jason Dinscore, Manager, Community Partnerships, CMC
• Michael Frame, Executive Vice President – MACNY

Nearly 200,000 skilled veterans enter the civilian job market each year, with valuable yet often underrecognized experience and skills due to a significant gap in how military learning is communicated and documented. The MI’s Manufacturing Readiness Badges bridge the gap between military service and manufacturing careers through digital credentialing, translating military skills into a language that resonates with civilian employers and facilitates the employment of veterans in manufacturing.

Level One – Foundational
Manufacturing is experiencing a resurgence in the US, leading to a massive demand for skilled workers. Despite the promising job growth, the industry faces a critical challenge: filling these roles amidst a significant talent shortage driven by Baby Boomer retirements and a widening skills gap. Siemens’ innovative approach to workforce development offers a promising solution to the talent shortage in US manufacturing. By focusing on teachable soft skills and providing comprehensive hands-on training to workers from all backgrounds, Siemens is paving the way for a more resilient and adaptable workforce. This approach has not only boosted retention and performance but is also being scaled nationwide. This presentation will highlight the successes and lessons learned from Siemens’ initiatives, providing valuable insights for other manufacturers facing similar challenges.

• Dr. Khourie Jones, Training Manager, Siemens

Something New Is Brewing… A high-impact, hands-on workshop is coming to the Workforce Summit. Inspired by Brewing Solutions and part of the MI’s reimagined Solutions Center, this facilitated session is designed for those ready to roll up their sleeves and help Manufacture America’s Talent and tackle manufacturing’s most pressing workforce challenges.

Level Two – Practical
Leveraging the talent of your workforce, you can develop an employee-driven skill building program that highlights the individual talents and superpowers of employees. By enabling qualified technicians to create and deliver short, targeted workshops to their peers, you will build a library of real-world learning opportunities for the challenges occurring on the line. Instead of learning being pushed to technicians, we can drive a learning culture that supports capability building created at the front line – where the work happens and is most impacted. McCormick’s employee-driven program is one component of a technician career development program that puts development in the hands of the employee, requires minimal technology for the plant that is not ready or able to invest in technological enhancements in learning, and engages the workforce to own their career while also supporting their peers. This is the breakthrough for gaining buy in and engagement for your learning culture.

• Courtney Johnson Wasylenko, Americas Supply Chain Training and Development Leader, McCormick

Level One – Foundational
This session will explain three of our methods for engaging with students at various strategic age groups exposing them to manufacturing opportunities at Honda. Middle School – We work with local schools and their regional career centers utilizing the Innovators Quest board game to expose younger students to STEM & Manufacturing related careers while using the associated career center students to provide a near to peer atmosphere that simultaneously exposes them to opportunities at their local career center. High School – We work with local high school and career center engineering programs to highlight the engineering spectrum engineering technology through engineering, hands-on through theory and the associated roles to help students make informed decisions about their best educational and career path fit after high school. College – Student cohort creation and execution exposing students not only to careers linked to their declared major but also our company and its culture.

• Derek Davis, Strategic Workforce Partnerships – Honda-Ohio State; University Partnership Talent Lead, Honda
• Meredith Reffey, Strategic Workforce Partnerships Department Lead, Honda
• Matt Springer, Central Ohio Workforce Partnerships Lead, Honda

Cancellation and refund requests for the Workforce Summit must be made in writing by October 6, 2025 by contacting [email protected]. A full refund of the conference fee will be applied to cancellations received by that date.

NO REFUNDS will be granted for requests emailed after October 6, 2025. The Manufacturing Institute also regrets that refunds will not be given for no-shows. Substitutions for an individual that cannot attend the event will gladly be accepted.

A transfer of your full registration is permitted prior to the conference by submitting your request to [email protected]. Onsite transfers will not be granted. Only one transfer is permitted per original registrant. The individual submitting the transfer request is responsible for all financial obligations (any balance due) associated with that substitution. Badge sharing, splitting and reprints are strictly prohibited.