By Rebecca A. Bickham, Editor-in-Chief of Materials Performance (MP) magazine

As the global workforce reaches a critical juncture, the trades face an unprecedented loss of institutional legacy driven by a massive wave of retirements.

Cindy Hubert, a speaker at Tuesday’s Global Workforce Challenges: Building the Pipeline Before It Breaks forum, shared with attendees the importance of a robust knowledge management. The event covered information on bridging the “knowing-doing” gap, such as common language, drivers of knowledge management, acceleration of learning, skills we all need, and looking ahead.  

The session focused on practical frameworks to capture and transfer veteran expertise before it exits the field. The systemic challenges of stabilizing the talent pipeline, emphasizing how a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives provides the resilience needed to sustain industry growth were also addressed.

The discussion concluded by exploring the evolving role emerging technologies and how they can be leveraged to support traditional craftsmanship and secure a future-ready workforce.

AMPP CEO Alan Thomas delivered closing remarks that reinforced key themes from the session, including knowledge management and workforce development. He also referenced the recent announcement of AMPP’s subsidiary, TalentForce, which will serve to address a growing talent shortage across critical infrastructure sectors.

“Corrosion never sleeps,” said Hubert. “And neither should the transfer of knowledge.”

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