Bring your best employer-driven ideas and the results that back them up. We are most interested in breakout sessions that show:

• Building Skills for the Modern Shop Floor
  Approaches that strengthen frontline capability, technical proficiency and leadership readiness – supported by real-world results.
• Agile Models for Rapidly Changing Production
  Training, systems and tools that help teams adapt quickly as technologies, processes and expectations evolve.
• Partnerships That Expand Talent Pipelines
  Employer, educator, community collaborations that improve access to skilled talent and prepare individuals for true manufacturing careers.
• Engaging, Applied Learning Experiences
  Interactive session formats that spark participation, problem‑solving and practical skill-building for manufacturers of all sizes.

Who Should Apply?

Sales presentations will not be accepted. A limited number of breakout sessions will be available for sponsorship by vendors or service providers. If you are interested in learning about opportunities to sponsor this event, please contact Mitch Harle, Senior Manager of MI Partnerships & Philanthropy, at [email protected].

Breakout Session Details

All breakout sessions are encouraged to be 60 minutes in length, with a minimum of 45 minutes, and will take place on October 27th or 28th. All breakout sessions will be required to include a Q&A portion.

When applying to present a breakout session, you’ll be asked for:

• Session Title: A clear, compelling title that captures your topic and draws attendees in.
• Connection to the Conference Theme, Skills at Scale: Delivering America’s Competitive Advantage
  A brief explanation of how your session supports this year’s focus areas – such as adaptability, continuous learning or human-centered innovation.
• Session Format: Select one of three options and note how you’ll engage attendees:
  • Workshop Session – highly interactive and hands‑on
  • Expert Insights Session – expert perspectives with structured takeaways
  • Case Study Session – a real challenge, solution and measurable results

Audience Levels for Breakout Sessions

To keep the 2026 Workforce Summit dynamic and impactful, every breakout will include an audience experience level selected by the presenter. These levels help attendees quickly find the sessions that match their background, interests and confidence in workforce development so everyone gets the right mix of inspiration and practical value.

Our Indicator System will guide the entire agenda and signal the depth, complexity and engagement style of each session. As you prepare your proposal, think boldly about the strength of your insights and the reach of your experience. When you clearly define your session level and audience, you help us build an exciting program that blends foundational ideas, practical strategies and advanced expertise so every attendee leaves energized and ready to elevate their workforce.

Before choosing, ask yourself: Have I influenced others? Have I shaped a program or direction? If yes, don’t hesitate to choose a higher level.

• Beginner: Ideal for attendees who are just getting started. These sessions introduce core concepts, provide definitions and walk through step‑by‑step approaches with proven examples participants can adapt.
  • Accessible ROI: Clear explanations of the value or impact generated (e.g., early outcomes, cost savings, efficiency improvements)
• Intermediate: Designed for those who have supported or piloted workforce initiatives. These sessions offer tools, frameworks and lessons learned to help attendees improve, scale or refine existing efforts.
  • Applied ROI: Demonstrated outcomes from manufacturer implementation (e.g., productivity gains, reduced turnover, cost avoidance, retention improvements)
• Advanced / Expert: Built for experienced leaders shaping strategy across teams or partners. These sessions focus on benchmarking, ROI, system‑level thinking, and innovative models to test, pressure‑check and advance.
  • Strategic ROI: Long-term value, system-wide outcomes, multi-year impact models, and strategic returns (e.g., innovation capacity, reduced operational risk, culture transformation)

Speaker Benefits

• Discounted Summit Access – Enjoy full access to the Workforce Summit at a significantly reduced rate. 
• Visibility & Recognition – Your name, company, and session details will be featured on the conference website and may be highlighted on MI newsletters and social media. 
• Customizable Social Media Graphics – If provided for your session, you’ll have access to branded speaker graphics to promote your participation on your personal channels. 
• Industry Leadership Spotlight – Showcase your organization’s expertise and workforce development successes by sharing best practices with industry leaders.

Speaker Responsibilities 

To be considered as a speaker, you must agree to:

• Register and attend the conference in person and complete your own discounted registration travel and lodging (all speakers must cover all related costs to attend)
• Prepare session materials after your required review meeting with the Workforce Summit team representatives (review meetings will happen between the months of July/August)
• Coordinate with any co-presenters for a smooth session
• Allow your session details to appear on the Manufacturing Institute website
• Submit presentation materials and required speaker information by the stated deadlines
• Maintain timely communication throughout the process
• Provide session materials by September 30, 2026

The Manufacturing Institute may remove a speaker or session at any time before the event if responsibilities are not fulfilled.

Evaluation Process

All submissions will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Strategy and Theme Alignment: Does the session address a real workforce challenge with clear context and a strong connection to the Summit theme, Skills at Scale: Delivering America’s Competitive Advantage?
• Strength of the Solution: Is the approach well designed, clearly explained and supported by tools or methods that others can replicate?
• Impact and Results: Are the outcomes measurable and meaningful, and does the proposal show how improvement happened?
• Learning Experience and Interactivity: Does the session include purposeful engagement that supports learning and fits the room setup?
• Audience Fit and Speaker Readiness: Is the session matched to the right audience level, and are the speakers prepared with a realistic delivery plan?

Proposal Submission & Selection Process

• Submission Deadline: April 30, 2026, by 5:00 PM EDT
• Notifications: Selected speakers will be informed by June 1, 2026

Submit a Proposal

Registration Fees

• Early Bird Registration: $870 (available from registration open until July 17)
  **Must register by July 17, 2026 EOD**
• Standard Registration: $1,190 (after July 17)
  **Registrations completed after July 17, 2026**

This fee covers all meeting sessions, meals functions and materials. Discounted registration is available through July 17, 2026. Registrations after this date will incur the standard registration fee of $1,190. Please reach out to [email protected] if you are interested in registering a group to attend the Manufacturing Institute’s Workforce Summit.

FAQs

  Unique and Relevant Topics

The event’s curated content includes real-world case studies, panel discussions, research insights, executive interviews and more!

Real-World Challenges and Solutions

Hear from local and global companies and thought leaders that are experts on new and innovative practices in the workforce development space

  Collaboration and Partnership-Building in Real‑Time

Network and connect with peers on opportunities in your community to attract and retain the future manufacturing workforce.

  Current and Future-Looking Strategies

Our employer-led summit will focus on cooperation and partnerships to solve key workforce development issues facing the manufacturing industry.

 One of a Kind

Meet with employers, educators and economic development leaders at the national level to develop a collaborative and comprehensive workforce development strategy that will meet the needs of the evolving manufacturing skills landscape.

Ecosystem of Stakeholders

Workforce development requires an entire ecosystem of diverse stakeholders to be successful. The Workforce Summit will be an opportunity for the entire ecosystem to collaborate and learn from each other. Individuals who should attend include manufacturing leaders from operations, human resources, and workforce development roles, economic development and association professionals, education and training providers, government officials and community partners

Making the Pitch: Communicating the Value of Summit Attendance to your Employer 

The Manufacturing Institute’s 2026 Workforce Summit is the premier event for manufacturing leaders focused on building a resilient workforce. As the industry faces rapid shifts in workforce expectations, economic conditions and technological advancement, the Summit offers a unique opportunity to address today’s most pressing talent challenges while laying the groundwork for long-term success. 

Now in its fifth year, the Workforce Summit has become a nationally recognized convening for forward-thinking manufacturing leaders. The Manufacturing Institute delivers a one-of-a-kind experience that equips attendees with timely insights, practical tools and collaborative strategies to help manufacturers remain competitive, innovative and future focused. 

Who Should Attend 

The Workforce Summit brings together a diverse cross-section of leaders who are shaping the future of manufacturing. Attendees include executives, human resource professionals, operations leaders, frontline leaders, education and training providers, workforce development experts, community-based organizations and policymakers. Whether you are directly managing workforce strategy or influencing talent development in your region, the Summit offers valuable insights and actionable solutions tailored to your role. 

Strategic Importance and Takeaways 

• Gain Insight into Industry Trends: Our Summit features sessions on the integration of AI into manufacturing, innovative apprenticeship models that prepare the new generation of workers adept to the transformation driven by technology and automation, and future-focused job profiles and the skills needed to fill them. 
• Enhance Talent Acquisition and Retention Strategies: The Workforce Summit will provide strategies for building a sustainable skilled workforce by tackling all stages of the employment cycle. Starting from expanding the recruitment pipelines through underrepresented talent pools (such as veterans, women, and second-chance workers) by leveraging data and community partnerships to build local talent pipelines, to enhancing apprenticeships and on-the-job trainings as effective onboarding and training mechanisms, and enhancing job retention by creating opportunities for inclusive leadership and professional development – all of these stages are included in our agenda!  
• Foster Industry Collaboration: The Summit provides organized formal and information networking opportunities among all the attendees to share success stories, ideate solutions to the challenges the industry is facing, and build relationships with potential partners. Our innovative Solution Series session is going to bring together participants to solve real-life case studies, drawing on the experience and successes of all the participants in the room.  
• Align with National Workforce Initiatives: Considering the increased focus of the government on addressing workforce shortages within manufacturing, it is essential to be proactive rather than reactive. The Summit will help attendees understand the implications of federal and state workforce opportunities and pre-position manufacturers to leverage the increased focus on the industry to foster public-private partnerships on the local and national scale.

Costs

 Below is an overview of known attendance costs you can use to estimate the cost of attendance to your employer: 

• Registration: $870 (if registered by July 17) or $1,190 (if registered after July 17) 

• Airfare: Search flights to Indianapolis International Airport (IND)

• Hotel: $269/night plus taxes and fees at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown

• Transportation: $80 – the average cost of a rideshare service to/from the airport is $40 one-way. 

• Meals: The average cost for meals when visiting Indianapolis is $80/day. However, the following conference meals are provided with registration: welcome reception on Monday; breakfast, lunch and reception on Tuesday; and breakfast on Wednesday. 

The registration fee includes access to all general sessions, select meal functions, and official event materials. 

 4.6 out of 5 participants rated the event as Excellent 

“The quality of both the content and the production far exceeded my expectations.”
—Community Partner 

“I attend workforce conferences across many industries, and this was by far one of the most well-organized and impactful events I’ve been to.”
— Educator 

 “This event was incredible. It was eye-opening to realize we are not alone in the challenges we face. Hearing how others are finding success gave me new ideas and motivation.”
— Workforce Partner 

“The roundtable discussions were a highlight. Honest, practical conversations about real issues employers are dealing with today.”
— Manufacturer 

ICYMI: Past Topics

Discover key takeaways from past Workforce Summits in Charlotte, NC; Minneapolis, MN; Atlanta, GA and Cincinnati, OH.