America needs 3.8 million manufacturing workers. This CEO has a blueprint to find them

Saint-Gobain North America's CEO says the real threat to America's next century isn't a lack of innovation — it's a shortage of skilled workers.

We talk a lot about the “American Dream,” but we do not talk enough about the grit and determination required to build it. As we mark 250 years of American history, our attention is naturally drawn to the history books, the policy debates, and the blueprints of our past.

Yet the real engine of our progress has always lived with the people — especially those on shop floors and construction sites. The story of America is a story of industry, technical skill, and relentless optimism for what the future holds.

To secure the next 250 years of growth, we must inspire the next generation of manufacturers, contractors, engineers, and innovators to help us construct a more resilient and sustainable future.

After three decades in manufacturing, my view on this is simple: we celebrate the headline-grabbing ideas, but we overlook the massive human effort required to scale them.

True innovation does not end with a patent or a blueprint — it becomes reality when the manufacturing workforce figures out how to produce those ideas at scale.

Today’s digital transformation does not exist in the cloud. It is brought to life on production floors across the country. From the drywall, insulation, and ceiling panels that create quiet, comfortable spaces in university buildings — every component is researched, designed, manufactured, and installed by people.

Our manufacturing workforce is the essential foundation upon which the next era of American growth is being built.

The Crisis We Can No Longer Ignore

The macro reality is clear: we are facing a workforce crisis that does not get nearly enough attention. The U.S. will need to fill 3.8 million manufacturing jobs over the next decade, according to a Deloitte and Manufacturing Institute study. Yet half, some 1.9 million roles, could go unfulfilled.

At a time when the United States is investing historic sums in reshoring production, rebuilding infrastructure, and accelerating the energy transition, leaving the workforce gap unresolved creates a national competitiveness problem.

The root cause is not a lack of capable young people — it is a perception gap. For an entire generation, we encouraged students to pursue a four-year degree in the hopes it would afford them an economic advantage. In doing so, we allowed outdated images of manufacturing — dirty, dangerous, dead-end — to calcify in the public imagination. Meanwhile, the industry has transformed itself entirely. Modern manufacturing floors are clean, safe, and powered by robotics, AI, advanced engineering, and sustainable practices.

The average manufacturing salary in 2024 was $106,691, including benefits, tuition reimbursement.

The irony is striking: the generation most skeptical of the four-year degree is overlooking an industry that has completely modernized — and where you can build a successful career without one.

What Closing the Gap Actually Requires

Every unfilled manufacturing role means delayed infrastructure projects, rising construction costs, slower housing starts, and lost opportunity to advance innovation. This is not an abstract workforce issue — it is a direct drag on American competitiveness and quality of life.

Solving it requires coordinated execution at every level:

• Educators must align curricula with advanced manufacturing needs
• Policymakers must incentivize vocational training and apprenticeship programs
• Business leaders must open their doors, invest in talent pipelines, and stop waiting for someone else to act first

No single company can solve a whole-of-industry problem. But every company can choose to be part of the solution.

At Saint-Gobain North America, we have seen firsthand what happens when you invest in people rather than just positions. Our 18,000 employees and nearly $7 billion in recent North American investments did not materialize from strategy decks alone — they were built by a workforce that identified customer challenges and did the hard work of solving them, not just today’s, but tomorrow’s as well.

A Career Built on the Shop Floor

I started as a sales representative in this industry three decades ago. Manufacturing gave me a career, a purpose, and eventually the privilege of leading one of North America’s largest building materials companies.

I have watched thousands of people build similar trajectories — not because of elite credentials, but because they showed up, learned a craft, and grew with an industry that rewards initiative and resilience.

Skilled trades are not a fallback. They are a foundation. And as we embrace advanced technology and automation, the need for people who know how to make things, and make them well, will only grow.

The Next Chapter

As we mark 250 years of American history, let us remember what actually built this country — not just the ideas, but the hands, the tools, the materials, and the makers who turned vision into reality.

The next chapter of American innovation will not lack ambition. What it requires is the wisdom to invest in the people who know how to execute on it.

The future of America will continue to be poured, welded, assembled, and installed by the manufacturing workforce that has always been the engine of American progress.

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This story was originally featured on Fortune.com