Critical Technology Areas
The Future of Defense Manufacturing
The Department of Defense has identified key Critical Technology Areas that are vital to meeting the United States’ most important national security needs. These six areas reflect the challenging and rapidly evolving landscape for technology investment, development, and adoption in the 21st century. For workforce development professionals, these CTAs are a clear roadmap of where defense-related manufacturing and jobs will be created, and what skills those jobs will require.
Insights and Data
Data to Inform
Workforce Planning
Our team of researchers and analysts take a data-driven approach to understanding industrial change and corresponding trends in education and training. We provide data and offer insights at the regional, state, and national levels as well as drill down into specific populations, like veterans.
How Eastman Chemical Built a Biomanufacturing Workforce Pipeline from the Infrastructure Up
The defense manufacturing sector needs more technicians and more engineers. It also needs people who can work at the intersection of the two roles.
71
completed apprenticeships in fields relevant to biomanufacturing in Northeast Tennessee
DMC 2026 Recap: Key Takeaways for the Defense Manufacturing Ecosystem
How industry and workforce are responding to Department of Defense signals, and what they need from government acquisition offices.
9
Key take-aways from the Defense Manufacturing Conference
Closing the Gap between Technician and Engineer
The defense manufacturing sector needs more technicians and more engineers. It also needs people who can work at the intersection of the two roles.
90%
Job placement rate in the DIB for the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing program.
The Apprenticeship Cliff: Why Registered Apprenticeship Still Isn’t Reaching Defense Manufacturers
Registered Apprenticeship remains a construction story and manufacturing continues to trail construction, educational services, and public administration.
114%
Increase in active apprenticeships over the last decade.
When Experience Walks Out the Door: The Knowledge Transfer Crisis in Defense Manufacturing
When long-time, skilled manufacturing workers retire, they take knowledge and experience with them. This is a risk to defense manufacturing.
24%
Percentage of workers across all production occupations age 55 or older.
How Rocket City Built America’s Most Concentrated High-Tech Defense Workforce: A Regional Case Study of Huntsville, AL
Supported by the U.S. Army Redstone Arsenal and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville’s economy supports a robust high-tech defense manufacturing workforce.
#3
Huntsville boasts the 3rd highest concentration of STEM workers among U.S. cities
Where the Manufacturing Jobs Are, and What It Means for Defense.
A recent analysis from the Economic Innovation Group (EIG) found that more than four-fifths of net manufacturing job growth since 2019 occurred in just 354 of the nation’s 3,143 counties.
80%
Percentage of the nation’s net manufacturing job growth since 2019, concentrated in 354 counties.
Apprenticeships Are No Longer an Alternative, They are Becoming the Center of the Workforce Strategy
Employers and educators aligning around “earn while you learn” models.
27%
Increase in Minnesota apprenticeship participation
The Retention Problem Nobody’s Talking About: Why Defense Manufacturing Can’t Keep the Talent it Trains
The defense manufacturing sector isn’t just struggling to hire, it is struggling to retain workers as well.
31.4%
Percentage of machinists 55 years and older
Pentagon Drone Investment: $23 Billion in 6 Years Tells Two Stories.
A significiant increase in investments in drone manufacturing from the DoD has the potential to impact your region and its manufacturing workforce.
$23B
Projected annual global military drone procurement by 2033.
Workforce Pell is Coming. Here is What it Means for Defense Manufacturing.
A major new federal funding stream is coming available, and it could reshape how your community builds its defense manufacturing pipeline
7.01.2026
Pell Grants available for short-term workforce training.
The Biomanufacturing Opportunity: Why Regional Action Matters Now
To lead in biomanufacturing, U.S. regions must pair world-class innovation with the workforce and infrastructure needed to scale it.
$16.4B
Is the size of the synthetic biology market.
The Pentagon Just Rewrote the Playbook. Here’s What it Means for Your Region
The 2026 National Defense Strategy makes rebuilding America’s manufacturing base a top-tier national security priority.
$21B
Increase in defense R&D budget for 2026.
The Human Element: How AI Elevates Defense Manufacturing Workforce Skills
AI is shaping manufacturing, and Defense requirements are leading the way
AI
Lessons from the past
Top defense manufacturing regions
Los Angeles has the largest workforce and one of the strongest industrial bases for defense aircraft components.
$29.7B
In contract value (2021-2025)
Growing Microelectronics Workforce
Orlando is one of the nation’s fastest-growing microelectronics talent hubs.
10,913
Workers in microelectronics-related roles across the region.
Hypersonics Federal Investment
Federal hypersonics spending remains almost entirely R&D focused.
$9B+
Federal hypersonics-related obligations since 2019, with ~93 percent dedicated to RDT&E.
Mapping the Biomanufacturing Workforce
Nearly 4 million U.S. workers support biomanufacturing and strengthen national competitiveness.
4M
Workers in U.S. metros with occupations relevant to biomanufacturing.
Newsletter
News & Updates
Stay current on trends, strategies, and success stories shaping the future of defense manufacturing workforce development with [insert name of newsletter].
Partner With Us
Our National Network of Innovative Partners
We work alongside a number of organizations that are working to accelerate priority technologies and solve workforce challenges across the U.S.
Industry Related Events
Upcoming Events
Join us at conferences, summits, and briefings focused on the future of workforce education and defense manufacturing.
Automate 2026
06/22/2026 – 06/25/2026
Chicago, Il
North America's largest robotics and automation event — and the best place to take ideas from insight to impact.
HI-TEC: High Impact Technology Exchange Conference
- 07/27/2026 – 07/30/2026
- Austin, Texas
HI-TEC is a national conference on advanced technological education, supported by the National Science Foundation’s ATE program. It brings together educators, counselors, industry professionals, trade organizations, and technicians from across the country to improve and update their skills and knowledge.
DIBX 2026 – Defense Investment Revolution
- 08/25/2026 – 08/27/2026
- Philadelphia Convention Center
NDIA – Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference and Exhibition 2026
- 09/09/2026 – 09/10/2026
- Washington DC Convention Center
The NDIA Emerging Technologies Conference will provide a unique forum for exploration of the new emerging technologies that will shape national security for the next century.
IMTS 2026 – Achieve the Impossible
- 09/14/2026 – 09/19/2026
- Chicago, IL
Largest manufacturing show in the Western hemisphere
Make it in America Summit
- 10/20/2026 – 10/22/2026
- Galveston, TX
