Innovation News

America's manufacturing resurgence is creating unprecedented opportunity, along with a growing demand for skilled talent.

In the next 10 years, one-quarter of the manufacturing labor force is expected to retire. Oklahoma is on target to experience a worker shortage of nearly 20,000 people by 2028. Through a partnership between Tulsa Innovation Labs (TIL) and the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance (OMA), the Tulsa region is bridging this critical gap through registered apprenticeships, ensuring a robust talent pipeline for local industry.

The Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance's Registered Apprenticeship Program is an earn-while-you-learn model that equips participants with hands-on experience while earning competitive wages. Apprentices gain the technical skills manufacturers need today, and graduates are already earning wages approximately 70% higher than the state median.

Tulsa Innovation Labs is ensuring those workforce efforts are aligned with the industries of tomorrow by providing strategic guidance that connects registered apprenticeships with emerging fields like advanced autonomous systems and drone manufacturing.

The impact reaches far beyond the shop floor. Employers gain access to skilled talent, small businesses are better positioned to grow, and more Oklahomans have access to high-quality careers. Companies like Generation FSH are embracing the apprenticeship model because it creates opportunity, for both their business and the people they hire.

Through partnerships like the Registered Apprenticeship Program, Tulsa Innovation Labs is helping create the talent pipeline that will power Oklahoma's manufacturing industry—and America's manufacturing future—for years to come.