4th Annual
Why attend?
The manufacturing industry is facing a critical workforce shortage, with 600,000 vacant positions right now and another 3.8 million jobs expected to be needed by 2033. Attracting and retaining employees remains the top challenge for manufacturers, and without new strategies, many of these roles will go unfilled. In fact, studies predict that by 2030, nearly 2.1 million jobs could remain vacant.
Amid these challenges, we’re bringing together manufacturing leaders at the Skills Gap Summit 2025 to discuss how this shortage impacts knowledge transfer, productivity, and the future of the industry.
What to expect?
Now in its fourth year, we’re excited to present the Skills Gap Summit 2025—an exclusive event uniting manufacturers, thought leaders, associations, and key industry stakeholders. Building on the success of previous summits, here’s a glimpse of the key themes that will shape this year’s discussions:
- Snapshot on the Houston area workforce challenges
- Capturing critical knowledge before it leaves the site
- The importance of diversity in manufacturing
- Leveraging digital tools for training and workforce development
- Interactive Q&A to brainstorm and converge on solutions.
Who attends?
- SVPs, VPs, Plant Managers, Operations Directors, Unit Operating and Maintenance Leaders
- Senior and Global Reliability and Maintenance Managers
- Senior Health, Safety, and Environmental Managers
- Site Workforce Development and Human Resource Managers
- Site Learning and Development Coordinators
Last year, our attendees included:
When??
January 30th 2025
Where?
South Shore Harbour Resort and Conference Center, Houston, Texas
Want to join?
Skills Gap Summit 2022 – 2024.
“Through the multiple different guest speakers that we’ve had here today there have been a lot of different methods that have been presented to us and different options that we can use in our own training plans. So, our team is going to go back today and evaluate how we can make our training better. We obviously want to continue to improve and make our training faster, retain knowledge, and capture information from people who are gonna be leaving in the next few years, so we can pass that to the generation to come.”
Hunter Schmidt, Learning Specialist at Dow Chemical
“There have been some great ideas and tips on what we can do differently, which I found very valuable. It’s clear that we’re all in the same boat, and many of the challenges other industries are facing are the same ones we’re dealing with. What I enjoyed most was the diversity of the speakers. As a woman in the industry, it was refreshing to see so many professional women speaking in a historically male-dominated field. These women come from all walks of life and bring a wide range of experience.”
Tammy Davis, Learning & Development Manager at Motiva
“It’s been great knowledge overall. It’s great to hear about the various efforts happening. It’s the same for us as it is in the industry: we lack gender representation, and we also experience high turnover and attrition. A lot of what I heard today helped me realize that many others are facing the same challenges, and there are a lot of organizations we could potentially partner with for support.”
David Guerra, Operations Transformation Manager at Invista
“It was a learning experience to come here and understand from all the different industries the challenge in front of us. So, to have everyone give their testimonials and what it means to them and their companies was an eye opener.”
David Jensen, Operation Leader – GFTX Cell Manufacturing at Tesla
“I enjoyed the insights from other companies and the sharing of information in our sub groups at our tables. It’s just good to know you’re not alone.”
Tressa Fuller, Talent Developer at Total Energies
