Driven by the growth of semiconductor production and buoyed by a diverse number of industries, leaders with Conexus Indiana say advanced manufacturing remains a cornerstone of the state’s economy.
However, the initiative’s recent Future Ready report emphasizes the continued struggle to get Indiana’s labor force trained for the increasingly tech-based jobs that will be needed.
The report projects the state could generate 178,000 new manufacturing and logistics jobs by 2033, though 85,000 of those are likely to go unfilled if workforce shortages persist. According to P.J. McGrew, senior vice president of talent strategy at Conexus, the key goal is to level up Indiana’s “tech-enabled” workforce.
“Eight percent of our manufacturing workforce is around those tech-enabled occupations, compared to 10% nationally. How do we continue to grow that? How do we utilize that and those skill sets to help increase productivity?” McGrew said.
The report notes the advanced manufacturing and logistics sector saw a record $29 billion in investments in 2024, yet Conexus reports a 1% decrease in industry employment from 2023 to 2024.
Future Ready
Conexus, the advanced manufacturing and logistics initiative of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, structured its study around four significant industries as exemplars within Indiana’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem: aerospace, automotive, life sciences and microelectronics.
In total, Conexus’ data shows one quarter of Indiana’s total workforce is employed in either manufacturing or logistics, and those sectors make up 37% of the state’s GDP.
The four “critical subsectors” identified by Conexus comprise 45% of the state’s manufacturing GDP. Though the life science and automotive subsectors make up most of that amount, Conexus Chief Operating and Strategy Office Bryce Carpenter said aerospace manufacturing is high-value and highly stable, while microelectronics manufacturing could transform the state.
“What’s key when you get into microelectronics and semiconductors is, do you have the gravitational pull of a [fabrication] shop, which we now will have in Lafayette? Then we’ll begin to see the supply chain ecosystem created to service it throughout the state,” Carpenter said.
All four critical subsectors are also connected in their rising demand for skilled workers. Conexus’ analysis shows roles like software engineers, industrial mechanics, quality inspectors and IT analysts are the most in-demand, but funneling the state’s talent pipeline isn’t a straightforward task.
McGrew says workforce training for modern manufacturing systems has to be a collective effort involving high schools, colleges and employers. He pointed to Indiana’s recent change in high school diploma requirements to include more work-based learning as a good step.
“How are we listening to employer feedback around how those roles are changing and the skills necessary are changing?” said McGrew. “And how are we as Conexus then taking that feedback loop to Ivy Tech, Vincennes, Purdue, all of our post secondary partners in our K-12 partners to say, ‘Okay, we know where things are going because we hear it from manufacturers themselves. Let’s start to look at what is being taught, whether that is in the classroom or through some on the job training, to make sure that the students are getting what [employers] are really looking for.”
McGrew and Carpenter added they’re looking at ways for the four critical subsectors to work together and create a shared talent pipeline given they all are looking for the same category of workers.
Conexus sees a tech-enabled workforce as a win-win as it increases wages for employees, but it also boosts productivity. Conexus’ data shows Indiana’s automotive industry has a low rate of tech-enabled positions and is just 87% as productive as the national average.
The average annual salary for a Hoosier in the advanced manufacturing and logistics industry is a little over $89,000—18% higher than the average worker.
Though the future presents some uncertainty with tariffs, Carpenter feels confident about the manufacturing sector’s diversity and ability to weather storms in individual sectors.
“You will have a very difficult time finding any other state that is as diverse within the subsectors of manufacturing,” Carpenter said. “If there’s an automotive peak, great, but if there’s an automotive downturn, we’ve got industrial we’ve got chemicals, we’ve got plastics, we’ve got aerospace, we’ve got life sciences.”
