The start of a new year brings both momentum and responsibility to CREC and our partners to ensure that the nation’s defense industrial base is ready to respond to technological innovation. We must move beyond short-term responses to workforce shortages across all advanced manufacturing sectors and toward a more deliberate effort to build the technical capacity this sector will require over the next decade. The challenge is no longer simply filling positions; it is preparing workers to succeed in environments shaped by rapid technology cycles, digital engineering, advanced materials, automation, and increasingly compressed production timelines. Defense manufacturers are integrating AI-enabled systems, model-based design, additive manufacturing, and resilient supply-chain technologies; as such, the workforce must adapt as skill needs change
Employers, state leaders, and federal partners are seeking to modernize training models and create more accessible and affordable credentials to meet industry need. The approach to pedagogy is also changing to accommodate more immersive and simulation-based learning, replacing traditional classroom settings and supplementing work-based learning. Emerging pathways offer opportunities for reskilling and upskilling to better align with data-driven production, cybersecurity, robotics, and other critical technology areas.
From our perspective at CREC, we are especially pleased to see that more leaders are recognizing the importance of workforce development as a strategic enabler of defense readiness. The Department of Defense, through ManTech and its partner Manufacturing Innovation Institutes, are taking a more active role in translating the skills required to apply cutting-edge research in manufacturers by ensuring those firms have access to relevant training solutions, aligning those solutions to the delivery capabilities of education providers, and supporting efforts that help to build regional talent pipelines prepared to fulfill the advanced skill needs for both near-term production and long-term technological advantage.
We expect the pace of change in 2026 to accelerate. Technology-enabled manufacturing, cross-sector partnerships, and regionally grounded strategies are becoming the norm, so existing organizations will need to partner to adapt. At CREC, we remain committed to supporting the work of bringing key partners together and linking them with unique resources like the MIIs, but we are clear-eyed about what it will take to succeed. Lasting impact will depend on coordination across federal programs, sustained industry engagement, and continued investment in the institutions and intermediaries that connect people to advanced manufacturing careers. By strengthening these partnerships and fully leveraging ManTech’s EWD investments, we can ensure that America’s defense manufacturing workforce is ready for what comes next and be well positioned to lead it.