Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment

Abstract

IBAS program investment strategies are informed by findings from the Executive Order (EO) 13806 report, "Assessing and Strengthening the Manufacturing and Defense Industrial Base and Supply Chain Resiliency of the United States," and follow-on industrial base and technology assessments. IBAS uses the report’s foundational risk framework to identify and address risks and inform investments. National Imperative for Industrial Skills. Addressing a cross-cutting need of the Department as impacted by the pervasive shortages of skilled industrial workers, especially in the manufacturing trades, and affecting all major DoD Acquisition systems and operations and sustainment sectors, the IBAS program established an integrated portfolio of workforce development investment projects as part of a broad initiative. Titled the “National Imperative for Industrial Skills,” the initiative’s objective is to help rapidly catalyze an effective public-private response that builds-out a robust national industrial skills workforce development ecosystem to 1) close existing industrial workforce skill gaps, with a particular (but not sole) focus on the skilled manufacturing trades on which the DoD relies (for example, precision machining, welding of all types, and metrology), and 2) leverage these gap-closing efforts to create the conditions for sustained, multi-sector growth of national production capacities and improved industrial resiliency. The operational and aspirational goals of the initiative are to appropriately apply DoD’s credibility, convening power and catalyzing strength to help: 1) promote prestige of manufacturing and related careers and inspire the next generation of industrial skills professionals; 2) accelerate workers into and through training/development pipelines, at appropriate scale and velocity; and 3) elevate U.S. manufacturing to world-leading status. To properly bound the effort, the majority of investments are aligned with the Department’s programs of record to help close known or projected industrial workforce gaps and mitigate associated workforce risks; additional, targeted investments are focused on meeting important crosscutting workforce development needs that benefit multiple acquisition and sustainment programs. Examples include partnering with and assisting industry, academia, regional, state, local and other federal activities in establishing new and/or expanded defense-relevant curricula and programs, and performing data analytics to inform future investments and action. In FY 2020, the IBAS program office issued a single, overarching Cornerstone Initiative Request (CIR) supporting this initiative. The CIR utilizes 10 U.S.C. § 2371b Other Transaction (OT) prototyping authorities and serves as a standing (five-year) acquisition platform. Twelve IBAS funded projects have been awarded under this solicitation. Subsequent supporting project calls in FY 2021 and future years will follow a progressive, building block approach based on the initiative’s progress against requirements, lessons learned, and the overall maturation of the industrial skills workforce development ecosystem supporting defense industrial base needs. The initiative leverages segments of both its baseline IBAS funding as well as any workforce development-focused congressional interest item funds.

Document Details

• Document Type: Project
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2022
• Source ID: 819_0607210D8Z_7_0400_PB_2022

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• Defense Technology Research and Development.