u/BidLink

I was at a meeting of local defense contractors in the northeast. This room was filled with people in their 60s who were talking about the problem acquiring new talent to replace an aging workforce. Lots of their best people are retiring and they need to fill those jobs.

Some of their outreach included events at local high schools and universities as well as media on local television. I surmise most of Gen Z is not watching the local news.

We have a lot of people here trying to get into defense contracting so lets open a discussion on how we can bridge the gap between these established government contractors and a young, enthusiastic workforce.

First, are any of our members located in the Northeast? Specifically NY, RI, Connecticut, and NJ. If so, I can publish local events hosted by these companies. There has been significant expansion of the defense manufacturing base in this area and they need people.

Grumman used to have a big facility here so there are quite a few people locally that have contacts with the primes, as well as great local support for contractors.

If you're just starting out in defense contracting, tell us about your experience trying to find your way.

This one closes May 1, so move quickly if you can produce these. They're 21 Ton anchor shackles -- A commercially available item, but also something many machine shops could produce.

For those new to defense contracting it is helpful if you know where the end users of your products are. DOD created a nice summary of the various maintenance departments. Some of these facilities have industry days where you can show your wares and meet with high ranking officials.

This one is on Portland, ME. Representatives from BAE Systems and Lockheed will be there. Good opportunity to meet people at prime contractors. It's sponsored by the Maine Apex Accelerator.

June 10-11.

https://www.mainebusinessmatchmaker.com/

The Department of War will be spending $1 Billion on small, disposable, lethal drones and is basically crowdsourcing them from the defense community. Each "gauntlet" is a competition where they choose a bunch of companies and purchase drones via OTA. Guantlet I is over, but Gauntlet 2 is upcoming.

If you have drone manufacturing capability this is worth a look.

https://dronedominance.mil/