![](https://www.okalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image-13-1-1024x457.png)
Workforce development is one of the top issues facing every Oklahoma manufacturer today. Oklahoma is on target to experience a worker shortage of nearly 20,000 people by 2028. Factors contributing to this talent gap include an aging population, low workforce participation rates and a skill shift.
Through our Workforce OMA initiative, the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance has created the Manufacturing Workforce Committee, an industry-led workforce initiative to give manufacturers the information and solutions they need to find great workers with the right skills for their companies.
This Manufacturing Workforce Committee, led by OMA’s workforce director Sharon Harrison and made up of c-level executives from large and small manufacturers across the state, is focused on:
- Actively seeking industry-created solutions to manufacturing workforce challenges
- Serving as the group that informs and directs manufacturing workforce initiatives for state and local partners
- Educating and assisting in the adoption of advanced manufacturing technology skills
- Being the catalyst for development of identified workforce and training solutions for manufacturing in partnership with Oklahoma’s workforce agencies, career and technical education, community colleges and universities
Specific Workforce Resources for Manufacturers
The Manufacturing Workforce Committee has worked with state leaders and the Manufacturing Alliance’s various education and economic development partners to develop the following tools and workforce resources for Oklahoma manufacturers.