INDIANAPOLIS – August 6, 2025 – As Indiana looks to lead in the next era of modern manufacturing, understanding where to invest in talent and technology is essential. Future Ready identifies the advanced manufacturing subsectors and roles that will be especially critical to Indiana’s future productivity and global competitiveness. Developed by Conexus Indiana, the report offers a strategic roadmap for how Indiana can lead in Industry 4.0 by investing in the people and sectors with the biggest potential to positively impact productivity.
About the Report
Future Ready: Advancing Indiana’s Productivity Through Critical Manufacturing Subsectors explores a pivotal question: “What are Indiana’s most promising growth subsectors—and who will power them?”
The report zeroes in on four subsectors essential to Indiana’s economy: Aerospace Manufacturing; Automotive Manufacturing; Life Sciences Manufacturing; and Microelectronics Manufacturing.
Together, these industries represent over 45% of Indiana’s manufacturing GDP and 31% of sector jobs. Each is undergoing rapid transformation driven by strategic investment, digital innovation and automation—demanding a future-ready workforce to sustain this momentum.
Key Findings
- Talent gaps are the greatest threat to progress
Indiana could create 178,000 new manufacturing jobs by 2033—but nearly half could go unfilled if workforce shortages persist. - Technology and talent go hand in hand
The successful adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies depends on Indiana’s ability to concurrently develop a skilled workforce capable of implementing and managing these advanced tools. - Shared roles, shared solutions
Many of the same high-impact jobs, such as robotics engineers, data scientists and automation technicians, are in demand across all four subsectors. Cross-sector collaboration in workforce development is not just efficient, it’s essential. - Production and logistics are foundational
These roles account for 63% of annual openings and remain central to keeping supply chains running and innovation scaling.
Subsector Snapshots
- Aerospace Manufacturing
Combines legacy production strength with growing demand for software engineers, simulation specialists and cybersecurity experts—especially in defense-aligned work. - Automotive Manufacturing
Maintains leadership in ICE production while advancing EV and battery innovation. Indiana has secured $12.9B+ in EV investments, creating strong demand for robotics and tech talent. - Life Sciences Manufacturing
Employs 41,609 workers across pharma, medtech and ag-bioscience. The sector is rapidly digitizing and increasingly dependent on biomanufacturing and automation skills. - Microelectronics Manufacturing
The fastest-emerging subsector. With 34% of its roles considered tech-enabled, it’s at the forefront of Indiana’s shift to a hard tech economy.
Why This Matters
Indiana’s advanced manufacturing and logistics (AML) sector accounts for 25% of the state’s workforce and 37% of GDP. Sustaining and growing that impact requires clear priorities. Future Ready offers insights to help stakeholders:
- Align training programs with the most critical industry roles
- Focus investments where they will yield the greatest return
- Build a unified talent pipeline that supports the future of Indiana manufacturing
Rather than competing for scarce talent, Indiana industries can work together to build a shared workforce pipeline. Training once can serve many; investment in one sector can benefit all. Future Ready highlights how collaboration across sectors will be key to Indiana’s sustained leadership in Industry 4.0.
Read the Full Report
Explore data and insights on four of Indiana’s most critical manufacturing subsectors here.