One of the most prominent topics in manufacturing has been the worker shortage. At the onset of the pandemic, nearly 1.5 million industry jobs were lost. Since then, there’s been a partial recovery, but credible concerns remain that the problem will persist or even worsen. In this issue, we’re broadly examining how different facets of the sector are addressing the crisis and supporting existing workers through AI, digitization, upskilling, and more. While the task may be daunting, it's far from impossible.

   — Jennifer Ramsay