In a concerted effort to address the critical workforce shortages in the U.S. casting and forging industry, IACMI–The Composites Institute®, in a multi-million dollar partnership with the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) Program, announced today it has partnered with Pennsylvania State University (PSU), the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), and Jobs for the Future (JFF) to support a groundbreaking national workforce initiative.
The Metallurgical Engineering Trades Apprenticeship and Learning program (METAL) has been established in response to the DoD’s identification of a need for an additional 122,000 skilled personnel in essential roles by 2028. This program aims to strengthen national defense through workforce development and technological advancement.
METAL focuses on growing the U.S. industrial base’s competitiveness against national security threats. The initiative seeks to develop a resilient domestic workforce to sustain and enhance the nation’s casting and forging capabilities through 2050. This effort will address vulnerabilities within the U.S. defense supply chain, which currently relies heavily on foreign sources for critical cast and forged products.