Manufacturing has a people problem, but not in the way we usually talk about it.

We talk about the skilled-labor shortage. We talk about retirements. We talk about doing more with fewer people. Usually those are treated as separate problems.

They aren’t. Rather, they are compounding.

Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute estimate that 2.8 million manufacturing job openings through 2033 will come from retirements alone. Separate Manufacturing Institute research found that 97% of manufacturers expressed concern about the loss of institutional and technical knowledge as the workforce ages.

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