Witnesses warn defense industrial workforce shortages threaten surge production; suggest multiyear buys, training and allied partnerships

Witnesses at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing said workforce shortages in the defense industrial base are a central constraint on the United States' ability to surge production in a major conflict and outlined steps Congress and the Defense Department could take to rebuild and retain needed skills.

David Berto said a primary obstacle to expanding the industrial base is insufficient, predictable demand: "We just don't buy enough to keep more companies in business," he told senators. He urged scenario‑based planning to underpin multiyear procurements and surge investments so industry can justify hiring and investment.

Senator Kaine and others focused on technician and trades shortages — welders, machinists and other production workers — and on demographic trends that will not be solved quickly. Witnesses noted wage competition from civilian employers, unstable contract terms, and continuing resolutions as factors that reduce private investment in defense manufacturing jobs. One witness said many government contracts still include unrealistic inflation clauses (around 1–1.2%) that fail to reflect recent labor and input cost increases, leaving contractors reluctant to expand payrolls.

Dr. Gerry McGinn recommended stable demand signals (purchase commitments and multiyear contracts) to give firms confidence to expand and retain workforces. She said longer contract horizons and purchase commitments can create the planning stability firms need to hire and train. Dr. Christine McKenzie emphasized workforce location and recruitment challenges: many production facilities are in rural areas that struggle to attract young workers and the culture values engineers over technicians. "We need to make being a technician exciting," McKenzie said, adding that allied training partnerships can help — she cited programs that brought allied personnel to train in the U.S. to expand capacity.

Witnesses proposed several workforce measures: multiyear procurement and purchase commitments to stabilize demand; targeted financing and off‑take agreements to reduce investment risk for new factories; government incentives or price preferences to favor secure suppliers; expanded training and apprenticeship programs; and allied workforce cooperation, including training exchanges and joint manufacturing efforts where practicable. Immigration and broader workforce policy changes were mentioned as long‑term levers to increase labor supply but were not specified in legislative detail.

No formal committee actions were recorded on workforce items during the hearing.