Workforce as Infrastructure: Talent, Training, and Human Capital
Space programs cannot scale without a workforce that is recruited, trained, cleared, equipped, and ready to perform in increasingly complex operational environments. This panel examines workforce as critical infrastructure—connecting long-term talent pipelines with the near-term training and readiness demands of NASA, the U.S. Space Force, and commercial industry. Panelists will explore how agencies, companies, universities, and training providers can attract and retain specialized talent, align education with evolving mission needs, accelerate knowledge transfer, and prepare teams for contested, distributed, and technology-intensive operations. The discussion will also examine how training can be integrated into operationally representative facilities and exercises without disrupting mission availability, including the roles of modeling, simulation, secure environments, and government-industry-academic partnerships. Attendees will gain practical insight into building a resilient human-capital ecosystem that moves beyond filling vacancies to developing people and teams capable of safely executing, sustaining, and scaling the next generation of space missions.
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