Manufacturing, healthcare, and applied technology are entering a new era of highly skilled, hands-on work. Yet education and credentialing systems remain misaligned. Drawing on Sapient Insights’ research, Stacey Harris CRO at Sapient Insights will moderate an executive panel discussion that explores how business and HR leaders can close the gap between what organizations need and what training and recruiting systems produce. We’ll examine employer-education partnerships, the impact of AI on technical skill requirements, and practical steps to realign hiring, credentialing, and workforce planning. The focus is not short-term recruiting fixes, but rebuilding a sustainable, skills-based talent pipeline for the next decade.