In mid-May 2025, Forvis Mazars and a panel of industry leaders discussed U.S. manufacturing industry workforce trends and potential challenges faced by business leaders and HR teams. We polled attendees to capture their perspectives directly, and the results—along with context and insights from Forvis Mazars—are shared below.
Where do you source the majority of your workforce today?
Traditional recruiting methods—referrals, recruiters, and website job postings—were overwhelming responses from participants. This isn’t surprising considering manufacturing companies seek to fill positions at all levels, from entry to executive.
Sometimes, the best way into a position is by leveraging your network of people putting in a good word for you or the symbiotic relationship of recruiters proactively seeking candidates and candidates employing recruiters to search on their behalf. These approaches often work for more seasoned people given their tenure in the industry. On the other hand, people with varying degrees of experience can find their resume at the top of the list by using a company’s online job posting.
It was encouraging to see the number of respondents who noted that local technical schools and community colleges were a significant source for manufacturing roles. This might indicate a trend toward valuing trade skills and early engagement in specific industries.
How are you currently combating labor challenges?
Investing in your current workforce is the best return on investment, and our survey respondents agree that “internal training to grow current employees’ skill sets” is the top answer. During the webinar, panelists discussed the additional benefit of succession planning across all disciplines at a manufacturing company, including progression into an executive position.
Companies also might consider investing in degrees for employees who demonstrate an aptitude for a role that may require it; this could provide long-term success for employees who might forego a college degree to enter the workforce immediately. A college education after high school is not the only path for those seeking a manufacturing career. This sentiment goes hand in hand with leaning into recruitment at local high schools and generating awareness of and interest in manufacturing careers via plant tours and mobile educational units.
In addition, there is a growing trend toward leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to optimize the workforce despite concerns about costs and job replacement. While manufacturing companies might not be ready for the upfront costs, labor shortages might push companies to lean into adoption. We suggest exploring AI governance to help ensure more fluid adoption of these innovative—and likely inevitable—technologies.
To what extent do you currently leverage AI and/or robotics to address workforce challenges?
We recognize that people may never get over the fear that AI and/or robotics will fully replace the human element. This fear likely influences adoption, as survey responses show. While the majority currently use AI to optimize their workforce and not fully replace headcount, a significant portion of respondents noted they’re not investing in AI/robotics anytime soon.
It’s worth the effort for employers to develop a talk track to address these fears with their current and future workforce. It’s important to note that these technologies are meant to enhance productivity and allow employees to focus on the best use of their time. While some roles will be fully replaced, this leaves room for people in those roles to upskill into new roles being created.
Do you have a succession plan in place for key roles across the business, not just at the executive level?
It is surprising that so many people do have succession plans. This means many manufacturing companies are taking workforce development seriously.
Proper succession planning gives current and future employees more stake in the company, knowing they’re part of a larger plan. Visibility into these plans helps with employee engagement, dedication, and retention. In addition, it could help identify potential challenges and gaps to support proactive road mapping and risk management.
Which of the following technologies do you believe will have the most significant impact on manufacturing workforce management in the next three to five years?
Embracing technology continues to be the way to remain competitive in the manufacturing industry. Our survey respondents are embracing the future of AI and robotics as the path forward, and whether your organization is there or not is irrelevant to the industry’s momentum. Now could be a good time to start mobilizing your workforce and position them to prepare for the coming workforce trends.
Younger generations entering the workforce want to be hired into AI-driven and innovative companies. They view it as onboarding with an organization that is cutting-edge, productive, and willing to evolve as the industry is also evolving. In addition, this new workforce doesn’t want to learn antiquated practices, do repetitive work, or use outdated materials or resources.
While you’re planning AI/robotics implementation and optimization, manufacturing companies can look for new hires with relevant skill sets in this space, including prompt engineering; an increasingly popular technique to craft the right input for AI to generate a valuable and useful output.
Which of the following metrics do you primarily use to measure the success of your workforce management efforts in manufacturing?
Leaders at manufacturing companies indicated they prioritize employee retention and satisfaction as well as production output and efficiency as key metrics of success. Investing in employee development is considered more cost-effective than hiring new staff, highlighting the importance of upskilling and retaining existing employees. Plus, a happy, productive, satisfied employee will yield efficiency and effectiveness at the bottom line.
So, What Now?
It’s clear that two things are influencing manufacturing leaders when it comes to their workforce: keeping employees happy, productive, and engaged and a commitment to adopting AI/robotics to remain competitive. These focus areas can help ensure employees are adequately prepared for their new roles within the AI/robotics environment.
*Data collected from 300-plus individuals who attended Resurgence of Manufacturing: Workforce Development webinar by Forvis Mazars on May 21, 2025 and answered several poll questions. The majority of attendees represent middle-market manufacturing companies, but others span a range of industries with an interest in the state of the manufacturing industry. The bulk of participants listed themselves as managers/supervisors or at the associate level at their organizations, as well as attendees in the controller role. (Only people who responded were included in the results shown.)
For More Information
To learn more about manufacturing trends, watch our webinar, “The Resurgence of Manufacturing: Workforce Development.” If you have any questions or need assistance, please reach out to a professional at Forvis Mazars.
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