It’s not just a challenge,
it’s a responsibility.

Together, we are taking action to build a highly skilled, future-ready workforce – one that drives innovation, strengthens our space industry, and meets the challenges of tomorrow.

Developing Space Talent, Driving U.S. Innovation

At SWFT, we are committed to working together across the space industry, government, and academia to build the most skilled, innovative, and future-ready workforce, ensuring U.S. leadership in space for generations to come.

The United States is facing a critical shortage of technical talent—one that threatens our competitive edge, innovation pipeline, and national security, particularly in the space industry. As leaders in this sector, we recognize our responsibility to ensure the U.S. remains the global leader in space. The STEM talent gap isn’t just a workforce issue—it’s a national imperative. Bridging it requires a comprehensive strategy, coordinated action, sustained investment, and shared accountability. No single organization can solve this challenge alone.

That’s why, through SWFT, we pledge to work together across industry, government, and academia to build the most skilled, mission-ready, and innovative workforce in the world. Together, we will secure U.S. leadership in space for generations to come.

We pledge to advance workforce readiness across four impact areas:

1)

Inspire the Next Generation

We pledge to engage in K-12 STEM experiences that ignite curiosity and expand awareness of space career pathways.

2)

Prepare Job Seekers

We pledge to support experiential internships, apprenticeships, and training programs – including nontraditional pathways that cultivate students towards rewarding technical careers in the space industry.

3)

Employ & Retain the Best Talent

We pledge to prioritize continuous learning and foster career growth through training, mentors, up-skilling, re-skilling, and cross skilling to keep employees engaged, motivated, and committed to long-term careers in the space industry.

4)

Measure to Improve Technical Workforce Gaps

We pledge to participate in the annual SWFT study to identify technical skill gaps, intern conversions, talent opportunities, STEM outreach, and best practices to track and improve our collective impact.

Members and Partners

Redwire logo
Stellar Solutions logo
The Aerospace Corporation logo
Capella Space logo
Relativity Space logo
Airbus US Space & Defense logo
MAXAR logo
RocketLab logo
Spire logo
Astranis logo
HawkEye360 logo
BlackSky logo
Northrop Grumman logo
Slingshot Aerospace logo
Blue Origin logo
Planet logo
SpaceX logo
Jet Propulsion Laboratory logo