About this session

Digital manufacturing is rewriting the rules of operational excellence, but here’s the truth: technology alone would not win the race. People will. European manufacturers are at a crossroads. Your workforce is facing double pressure with experienced operators retiring or struggling with digital tools, while new hires arrive without deep process knowledge. If you do not act now, your organization risks slowing innovation, losing efficiency, and falling behind competitors who crack the code of workforce transformation first.

In this session, Elisa Llinares, Corporate Manufacturing, Innovation & Capability Director of P&G, will share how they turn this challenge into a competitive advantage. Through its Integrated Work System (IWS), P&G builds disciplined, digitally capable teams, bridges generational divides, and embeds continuous learning into the heartbeat of operations. This is not theory, it is practical, scalable, leadership-driven action that prepares your workforce for AI-enabled, digitally accelerated operations.

Discussion Points:

• Understanding the real causes of the talent and skills gap in European manufacturing as operations become more digital
• Bridging generational divides by combining deep process expertise with digital literacy on the shop floor
• Case example: applying disciplined manufacturing systems to redesign training and capability development
• How Integrated Work System (IWS) principles support scalable learning and consistent execution in digital manufacturing
• Retaining frontline and technical talent through engagement, trust, and clear capability pathways
• Embedding continuous learning into daily operations rather than treating training as a separate activity
• Leadership and change management lessons from implementing workforce transformation at scale
• What a digitally enabled manufacturing workforce will look like in 2026 and how leaders can prepare now