NAM Brings 2026 State of Manufacturing Workforce Tour to Dallas, Spotlighting Skills, AI, and Training Gaps
The National Association of Manufacturers held its State of the Manufacturing Workforce Address in Dallas on February 26, 2026, at Dallas College Garland Center. NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons and Manufacturing Institute President Carolyn Lee led the event alongside the Chairman and CEO of Rockwell Automation. Official sponsors included NTT DATA, a global AI and digital technology services firm, and Schneider Electric.
The choice of venue—a community college campus rather than a hotel or convention space—carries strategic weight. Dallas College operates one of the largest community college systems in Texas and has existing manufacturing and technical education programs. Its selection as host suggests the convening was designed to reinforce the relationship between industry and regional education providers as central to workforce development.
Who Was in the Room and Why It Matters
The mix of participants reveals what the manufacturing industry is prioritizing in 2026. Rockwell Automation's presence ties workforce development directly to automation and industrial technology. The company is a major player in factory floor digitization and has a direct interest in workers who can operate and maintain increasingly sophisticated systems. NTT DATA's sponsorship signals that the workforce conversation has expanded beyond traditional trades training. The question manufacturers are now grappling with is not just whether they can hire machinists or welders — it's whether their existing and incoming workforce can work alongside AI-assisted tools, robotics, and connected systems.
National and Regional Context
The Dallas stop is one leg of NAM's multi-city 2026 State of Manufacturing Tour. Recurring themes across the tour center on skills gaps, training infrastructure, and the integration of new technology into manufacturing operations. For Dallas-Fort Worth manufacturers, these themes carry immediate weight. The region hosts aerospace, defense, food and beverage, electronics, and industrial manufacturing operations — industries where both technical precision and digital fluency are increasingly required at the production level.
What the Event Did and Didn't Reveal
NAM has framed the tour around urgency and need. The publicly available record of the Dallas event includes statements from NAM leadership about the importance of workforce development, but lacks specifics on what programs were announced, what partnerships were formed, or what training initiatives emerged as direct outcomes of the February 26 convening.
The broad framework—attract skilled workers, prepare the workforce for AI-driven operations, build sustainable training pipelines—identifies the problem. What it does not yet provide is detail on how a mid-market Dallas manufacturer can act on it.
What to Watch
Dallas College engagement. The college's selection as venue signals its importance to regional workforce strategy. Community college partnerships are increasingly how mid-market manufacturers are building talent pipelines.
Automation vendor training resources. Rockwell Automation and Schneider Electric both have existing workforce development programs tied to their equipment and systems. Manufacturers running their infrastructure should verify what local training resources or initiatives resulted from the event.
AI skills curriculum. NTT DATA's sponsorship points to AI as a workforce priority. Whether the firm or similar vendors bring specific training programs to the DFW market will be worth tracking.
The NAM event did not produce a policy announcement or funded initiative—at least not one publicly disclosed. What it did surface is where the region's manufacturing leadership is directing its focus on workforce strategy.