People who wish to join manufacturing careers have a variety of options when it comes to workplace training and apprenticeships. These enable hands-on learning and education about possible career paths. Depending on your location and desired career, one of these might open doors for you. We’ve rounded up four initiatives in aerospace, automotive, and pressed materials. 

The GE Aerospace Foundation will invest $1 million in Alabama workforce training through its Lifting Futures program, supporting three local partners in 2027 and benefiting more than 400 people through aerospace and advanced manufacturing training, career awareness and worker recruitment initiatives. The investment supports the foundation’s goal of training 10,000 workers for the aerospace industry by 2030. 

Penn State has received a $39.9 million federal grant to establish the DuBois Center for Innovation Regional Manufacturing Hub, a project expected to catalyze nearly $200 million in public-private investment and strengthen north central Pennsylvania's pressed materials manufacturing industry. The hub will support advanced manufacturing research, workforce training, apprenticeships and commercialization, helping manufacturers supply automotive, industrial machinery, aerospace, energy, defense and medical technology sectors.

Gestamp, a global automotive parts manufacturer, is launching U.S. Department of Labor-registered tool-and-die apprenticeships across six U.S. manufacturing facilities, including its South Charleston, W.Va., plant, with assistance from Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center (MAMC). The initial program will include 32 apprentices across facilities in West Virginia, Alabama, Michigan, Tennessee and South Carolina, while pre-apprenticeship pathways for high school students will begin in Logan County, W.Va. 

Marshall University and its partners will receive $3 million from the Economic Development Administration to support the Aerospace, Resilience, Manufacturing and Operations for Readiness (ARMOR) coalition, advancing aerospace manufacturing and defense workforce development in West Virginia. The project will establish a national aerospace and defense innovation hub through airport infrastructure improvements, equipment investments and workforce curriculum development, with funding expected to support nearly 600 jobs.