DOD Official Pinpoints Public-Private Cooperation Areas for Industrial Defense Manpower Buildup

Government collaboration with private industry at all levels is needed to build a strong defense industrial base and manpower pipeline, William LaPlante, Department of Defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment and a Wash100 winner, said. 

LaPlante said at a panel discussion at the Reagan National Defense Forum that the collaboration has to be from “the high schools all the way up to the federal level.” The panelists noted in their discussion the example of U.S. shipbuilders investing in high school training programs to develop skills that will lead to in-demand, well-paying job opportunities in the future, the DOD said. 

LaPlante, also a speaker at a past Potomac Officers Club event, suggested joint government and private industry efforts to ensure that workplaces of the defense manufacturing industry are attractive to future workers. He added that the joint initiatives can also include lowering entry barriers on some highly skilled positions wherein a college degree may not be necessary.

Workforce readiness is among the key areas of the DOD’s National Defense Industrial Strategy expected for release in December. Other focus areas in the strategy are faster and more affordable production at scale, supply chain resilience, flexible acquisition and metrics implementation.