Hanwha Aerospace USA

From Technical Training to Strategic Development

Professionals in Learning & Development (L&D) often find themselves specializing in either leadership development or technical training. My experience has required fluency in both. Beginning my career in the Technical Training function at a large New England utility, I developed a deep appreciation for structured technical training, rigorous evaluation, and qualification frameworks. Fast forward to 2026 I have the privilege of coupling both sides of the development space into one role.  Sometimes the connection between talent development, soft skills and technical training are often disconnected. All components are important and should be looked at through a singular lens to not only ensure employees have technical capabilities but can work in an environment where leadership also has the skills and abilities to be effective.

In what is commonly known as the “aerospace alley,” Western Massachusetts and Connecticut, aerospace manufacturers find themselves competing for the same talent over and over again. In this highly competitive sector, organizations need to differentiate themselves. I have made it my mission to prove that Learning & Development can be a competitive advantage.

Manufacturing is one of the most demanding environments to be in. Operations moves fast and every daily action that happens matters to the bottom line. Events can have a ripple effect across the business and its people including production, safety and cost. In this environment the learning needs are steeped in real time problem solving not theoretical ideas. This is why L&D needs to be intimately involved in the overarching business operating system and in lock step with the leadership team and strategic outlook. If not, time an energy is spent on what I call the “shot-gun approach” to training. Blast it out and see what hits the target.

A Framework Built on More than Compliance

The structured L&D framework we are implementing includes four key focus areas to satisfy both regulatory requirements and developmental needs of the organization.

• OSHA Compliance

• Quality Compliance

• Technical Skills Training

• Leadership Development

“Manufacturing is one of the most demanding environments to be in. Operations moves fast and every daily action that happens matters to the bottom line.”

While compliance training is non-negotiable, technical and leadership development are often deprioritized as “nice-to-have” initiatives. In practice, they are equally essential but the area that lags the most is technical skill development. What I have seen in my tenure in manufacturing is that technical skill development has disproportionately relied on tribal knowledge being passed down through on-the-job shadowing, albeit a necessary part of the learning process, it is frequently misaligned with documented procedures and standards. This is where Lean Principles become foundational for business and learning. Lean Manufacturing is something that most manufacturers are keenly aware of, but don’t often execute as well as they need to. Although there are several core principles to Lean, a key area that L&D is reliant on is the development of Standard Work. The process of defining the safest, most effective and repeatable way to perform a task by capturing the best-known method at a moment in time, based on experience, engineering, safety and quality requirements. Without it, effective training design is nearly impossible. It is widely recognized that in the technical training arena, you are training “in accordance with” a regulation, a policy or this case the standard work requirements. If these don’t exist effective training can’t happen. Standard work is not just a training tool, it underpins performance improvement, error prevention and a method for driving consistency across shifts and personnel.

When L&D Moves from Support Function to Strategic Driver

Adopting Lean, however, is not simply a process change, it is a behavioral shift. We must move away from the traditional approach where the attitude is often “To get things done, we need to drop the hammer, or if this hammer doesn’t work, I’ll just get a bigger one” creating negative pressure resulting in employees doing whatever it takes to deliver a product. Inconsistent processes naturally lead to inconsistent results undermining quality, efficiency and trust with our customers. Whereas adopting a lean strategy and mindset moves toward consistent, agreed-upon processes to achieve reliable, repeatable results. When employees follow a standard method, the process becomes predictable and teachable resulting in stable output.

Within L&D, Lean helps us define learning by what skills the employee needs to perform their job effectively and aligns training with actual business needs. When applied correctly we can streamline training focusing on just-in-time interventions and clear knowledge transfer.

In a rapidly evolving and highly competitive aerospace manufacturing landscape, L&D can no longer operate as a peripheral function. L&D must be aligned with the organization’s unique business strategy and integrated into daily operations, and accountable for measurable performance outcomes.  When executed in this way, L&D becomes not just a support mechanism, but a driver of competitive advantage.