Eartha Hopkins, Content Coordinator at America Makes on scaling additive manufacturing education with digital learning.
As additive manufacturing (AM) moves from niche to mainstream, the next barrier is scale: equipping the existing workforce with AM skills across design, engineering, and production. Today’s gas turbine design engineer, for example, must pair AM literacy with digital design and investment casting expertise. Systematically embedding AM competencies across disciplines will accelerate innovation, reduce development cycles, and sustain industrial leadership.
To address the need for a future-ready workforce, industry practitioners and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) are intensifying efforts in education and workforce development (EWD) to strengthen the defense industrial base (DIB) and enhance U.S. global manufacturing competitiveness.
A key focus area is integrating online learning, microlearning, and digital engineering tools that make high-quality training accessible, practical, and scalable with America Makes, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, leading the charge. Catalyzing its broad membership, strategic partnerships, and research, the Institute is building a robust learning hub focused on expanding the supply chain capacity through focused, industry-grounded AM EWD efforts.
Digital learning platforms and microlearning modules
AM’s rapid evolution highlights the urgent need for innovative workforce training models. Digital learning platforms and microlearning modules are essential for equipping today’s workforce with advanced AM skills. These platforms enable continuous, flexible, and scalable education, which is vital for keeping pace with market demands. Moreover, investing in such education is crucial for national security, ensuring a steady pipeline of skilled professionals capable of handling the complex demands of modern manufacturing and defense technologies.
As a result, the Institute has launched high-impact programs, providing companies and the defense with essential curricula, content, and best practices to attract and retain the next-generation workforce. These initiatives support learners at every stage of their educational journey, from early awareness-building efforts to micro-learning modules spanning the entire AM process. This all-encompassing educational framework has culminated in comprehensive training and certification programs (For a full list of EWD digital assets developed through America Makes, visit americamakes.us/amnation/tools/).
Key EWD assets include:
- AMTrain: a curated state-of-the-art inventory of additive training assets intended to align KSAs (knowledge, skills, and abilities) to AM roles.
- AMNation: an accessible platform housing America Makes EWD assets of practice-vetted microlearning modules and other engagement opportunities to expand the knowledge and skill sets of learners of all ages.
- Drive AM: a robust digital engineering infrastructure solution and powerful training environment to meet elements of the DoD strategies of the digital engineering transformation.
- AM Jobs: a free digital tool to facilitate career exploration for a wide range of job roles in the AM industry.
- Tooling U-SME: an exam-based program designed for entry-level technicians seeking essential AM knowledge to prepare for an apprenticeship program.
To date, the Institute has engaged over 80,000 learners and partnered with more than 100 institutions, training 2,000 DoD personnel and veterans. Further, its collaboration with Tooling U-SME enabled the deployment of 400,000 individual AM online courses to over 100,000 learners at more than 2,000 companies. This extensive reach underscores the significant role the Institute plays in shaping a skilled and innovative manufacturing workforce for the future.
Targeted workforce development for manufacturers and defense
Focused investment in small and medium manufacturers (SMMs) strengthens talent attraction and retention while accelerating modernization of production capabilities, which remain consistent barriers to adoption for many SMMs.
America Makes is addressing these needs by enabling SMMs to adopt AM and scale their workforce through practical guides, networking, and integrated digital learning tools. A cornerstone resource, the Guide to 21st Century Talent, streamlines adoption by covering AM implementation, talent attraction, knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA)-based training, and pipeline development through partnerships, helping companies overcome workforce gaps and participate fully in the AM industrial base.
Across the DoD, initiatives like The Rapid Casting Demonstration Challenge in collaboration with Renaissance Services, Inc., The Ohio State University, and Aspen Technology, LLC, have shown the promise of AM-augmented casting in improving DoD-specification part production. This project not only accelerates talent development and credentialing but also scales technology across the DIB, delivering measurable outcomes for the DoD. Such efforts further advance workforce readiness and reduce barriers to adopting AM to meet defense needs.
Innovative training initiatives cultivate a future-ready workforce
Investing in next-generation talent is crucial for developing a skilled workforce to meet the demands of advanced manufacturing and AM. This challenge also presents opportunities for innovation in training and education, fostering collaboration among the workforce, DoD, academia, government, and industry to enhance U.S. competitiveness.
By fusing online learning, micro-credentials, and digital engineering, America Makes is tackling the workforce challenges that slow AM adoption—building a skilled, adaptable talent pipeline that powers U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and supports defense mission needs.
