Manufacturing USA's 2025 Year-in-Review

In an effort to equip job seekers, employers, and trainers with the resources needed to create a skilled workforce, Manufacturing USA developed the 2025 Advanced Manufacturing Occupation and Competency Framework, which includes 137 occupations and over 1,200 connections within key technology areas. This framework aims to expedite credentialing and national certifications within advanced manufacturing.

This year, NIST rolled out a review of China’s Manufacturing Innovation Centers (MICs) during our annual Manufacturing USA Network meeting. This important new report outlines the mission, structure, and progress of implementing these MICs to date and offers a comparison of other international approaches to manufacturing innovation.

Enjoy these stories that share the decade-long impact of a few of the institutes: 

• America Makes Continues to Build Its Additive Legacy
• PowerAmerica Energizes Innovation in the Semiconductor Industry
• MxD Is a Testbed for the Factory of the Future
• IACMI Blends the Best in Composites

This year, 28 talented individuals joined the 2025 cohort of Modern Makers. The program highlights the career paths and stories of individuals whose sense of purpose reflects Manufacturing USA’s mission to inspire the future of advanced manufacturing talent. To expand on the mission, we shared a new video about the program and highlighted several career pathways within advanced manufacturing.

To emphasize the efforts of the Manufacturing USA network, we released a video that highlights work done by the institutes to promote growth through collaboration within the industry. From startups to large companies, the video demonstrates how Manufacturing USA helps members grow, thrive, and shape the future of U.S. manufacturing.

Manufacturing USA was represented by a panel of experts for the second consecutive year at the annual SXSW conference. The session, “Factories of the Future,” featured panelists from EPIXC, AFFOA, ARM Institute, and CESMII and discussed everything from U.S. manufacturing misconceptions to the importance of both “automation and people” to keep the factories of the future growing.

For the second year in a row, the Manufacturing USA network attended the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference, which brought together more than 19,000 students, educators, and industry professionals. As an official partner of SkillsUSA, Manufacturing USA representatives interacted with more than 2,000 visitors at our booth. Attendees were able to engage with real-world technologies from our network of institutes through a mix of interactive activities.

Over 80 representatives from the Manufacturing USA network’s 18 institutes gathered in Washington, DC for our annual network meeting. During the day-and-a-half event, attendees heard from several guest speakers, attended a variety of insightful sessions, and networked with the various institutes and federal agencies that attended.

A selection announcement is pending following NIST’s competition for an additional NIST-sponsored Manufacturing USA institute, designed to focus on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to increase resilience in U.S. manufacturing.