Talent Troubles: Defense Companies Face Post-Pandemic Workforce Shortages.

• Author: Luckenbaugh, Josh

It's been three years since the initial COVID-19 outbreak upended the global economy, and the defense industry is still struggling to attract and retain key talent on both the production line and in offices, according to a new study.

The 2022 Aerospace & Defense Workforce Study--released in October 2022 by the Aerospace Industries Association and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in collaboration with Ernst & Young LLP--revealed that overall turnover in aerospace and defense companies has risen to 7.1 percent, marking more than a 2 percent increase since 2020.

The study noted a specific shortage for workers with skills in engineering and "strong digital capabilities"--such as data, analytics and automation. The push for a defense workforce with these digital skills is a relatively new phenomenon, said Steve Fuller, partner in Ernst & Young's people advisory services division.

"There's really an evolution in the types of skills that are needed today as well as in the future, and it's being exacerbated by multiple factors," Fuller said.

One factor causing the talent shortage is academia's inability to keep up with the defense industry's changing needs, he said.

As part of the 2021 edition of the survey, companies were asked how far in advance they conduct workforce planning. More than half of the respondents said they only plan 18 months into the future, Fuller said.

This timeline for workforce planning can cause shortfalls as it doesn't always align with contract periods and doesn't factor in the time universities and trade schools need to update their curriculums, he said.

"There's a disconnect between what the professionals in the industry are doing and those in the academic space are doing," Fuller added.

"The entire landscape of manufacturing; both in the makeup of the workforce and in the international supply chain, has vastly changed since the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic," Mark Lyall, senior sales manager-defense at Cummins-Meritor, said in an email.

"Our supply chain has [to] continue innovating, finding efficiencies, accelerating process improvements, and investing in the workforce to find new ways to operate under the new normal conditions," he added.

Another company looking to bridge this gap between academia and the professional industry is Lockheed Martin. The company has established apprenticeship programs--including one in partnership with the College of Central Florida--which are "instrumental in...