5th Annual
Why attend?
The manufacturing industry continues to face a critical workforce shortage — with over 600,000 positions currently unfilled and 3.8 million more expected by 2033. Attracting, developing, and retaining skilled employees remains the top challenge for manufacturers. Without new strategies, 2.1 million roles could remain vacant by 2030.
To tackle these challenges head-on, we’re convening manufacturing leaders at the 5th Annual Skills Gap Summit 2026 to explore how workforce shortages are reshaping knowledge transfer, productivity, safety, and the future of operations.
What to expect?
Now entering its fifth year, the Skills Gap Summit 2026 builds on the success of past editions — offering a powerful forum for manufacturers, thought leaders, associations, and workforce experts to connect, collaborate, and share solutions. This year’s program will feature:
- Changing expectations around training and qualification among a new generation entering the workforce
- Strategies for capturing critical knowledge before it leaves the site
- The impact of diversity and inclusion on workforce resilience
- How digital tools can enhance training and workforce readiness
- Interactive Q&A to brainstorm and converge on solutions.
Who attends?
200+ professionals registered for 2026, including:
- Director of Learning and Education
- Director of Operational Excellence and Learning
- ES&H Advisor, EHS Manager, HSE Training Specialist
- Director Workforce Development, Workforce Development Manager
- Director, Global Process Safety
- Maintenance Manager
- Operational Excellence Learning Manager, Operations Specialist, Operator/Training Coordinator
- Production Superintendent, Production Manager
- Training Specialist, Logistics Training Coordinator
- Vice President of Operations
- Vice President HR
Last year’s summit welcomed representatives like:
When??
January 29th 2026
Where?
South Shore Harbour Resort and Conference Center, Houston, Texas
Want to join?
Agenda.
Preliminary agenda. Stay tuned as we confirm additional speakers and sessions in the coming weeks.
7:30 AM
Safety Moment
AI in Manufacturing – A Voice of the Expert
12:00 PM
Session to be announced
The Role of Safety Professionals in Bridging the Skills Gap
Walk the Line
Objective based learning
Best Practices for Onboarding and Qualifying New Operators
4:30 PM
Breakfast & Peer Networking
David Gosnay, LYB Training & Dev Mgr
Julie Thyne, Dow Global Improvement Director
Lunch
Alison Bess, LBC Regional Training Manager
Jennifer McNelly, CEO ASSP
Lawrence Moreaux, LYB Digital Technology Business Interface
Aaron Roseum, Ergon Site Training Manager
Patrick Valdez, Kuraray Production Supervisor
Networking Reception
Speakers
David Gosnay
Manager, Training & Development
LyondellBasell
Jennifer McNelly
CEO American Society of Safety Professionals
Julie Thyne
Global Improvement Director
Dow
Aaron Roseum
Learning and Development Supervisor
Ergon
Lawrence Moreaux
Digital Technology Business Interface
LyondellBasell
Looking for where to stay?
We have a room block at the South Shore Harbour Resort & Conference Center at a discounted rate of $145 for Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29th January (Booking Link). Feel free to contact your Voovio host if you would like to get the booking link.
Skills Gap Summit 2022 – 2025.
“I wanted to be around like-minded people, to see what other companies are doing and what challenges they’re facing. It’s reassuring and helpful to know others share the same challenges and to get feedback on their approaches. So much knowledge was shared today — I took notes on what to bring back to our operations management, potential improvements we could implement, and other ways Voovio could support us.”
Alison Bess, Regional Training Manager at LBC Tank Terminals Seabrook
“We had a significant incident in our refinery that revealed some real knowledge gaps. That’s how I first found out about Voovio — it was like a light bulb went off in the room, we knew this is what we needed. It’s great to be here today, see how others are applying it and also gain new ideas what the industry is doing to overcome workforce challenges.”
Urban Showe, Production Manager at Calcasieu Refining
“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
“I came to learn more about the tools out there and see how we could benefit from them and share that with our leadership. I really enjoyed the spotlight sessions — hearing how others are solving challenges in small groups and seeing real examples like BASF’s was very cool.“
Alex Arafat, Senior PSM Engineer at INEOS
“I wanted to learn more about the tools available in the industry and the summit has been really helpful for that. A lot of what’s been covered resonates with our own journey, it’s encouraging to hear that other organizations are facing similar challenges and to see opportunities to collaborate.”
David Guerra, Operations Transformation Manager at Invista
Want to hear more stories?
Discover all interviews and see what industry leaders had to say about their experience at the Skills Gap Summit here.
