Adam Harvey, Business Performance Partner – Manufacturing, The Learning Wave

 What if next year looked different?

Picture this: Same pressures. Same market conditions.

But instead of starting 2026 already firefighting, you’re ahead of demand.

Your people anticipate issues before they hit production. Technology accelerates performance instead of slowing it down. The morning meeting is about what you’re improving, not what you’re recovering from.

That’s the position some manufacturers have put themselves in this year.

And let’s be honest. They didn’t get there because 2025 was easy.

This has been one of the toughest planning cycles in recent memory. Margin squeeze. Labour shortages. Compliance tightening. Digital expectations rising. Budgets dissected line by line just to keep the lights on and the line moving.

But while most held back waiting for “the right moment”, the bold manufacturers, big and small, doubled down on capability. Not because it was part of a grand strategy. In some cases, because the same issues kept cropping up, and the old approach wasn’t working.

Not because they had spare time.
Because they knew they couldn’t afford to wait.

We saw it everywhere:

• Lion invested in teams’ problem-solving capability and OEE improved
• Altus backed their leaders to own and solve problems and culture and collaboration lifted – this piece of work paid for itself 3X
• Tegel moved safety from reactive to proactive by growing rep capability
• Ashburton Meats and Kraft Heinz built their leaders ahead of operational change
• Tasman Tanning, Essity, AFFCO, George Weston Foods, Vitaco and Inghams built performance skills. Their frontline teams now act earlier, make better decisions, solve problems faster, reduce waste, and speak up when performance is at risk
• Buckleys continued building capability at every level
• Foot Science International, Baker Boys and Argus ManuTech prepared their teams for digital transformation

They didn’t just chase more capacity. They built capability. And performance followed.

They still have issues. Every site does, but they surface earlier, and teams move faster to correct them.

Most importantly, they’re entering 2026 with momentum, while others are still getting off the starting blocks.

Where performance shifts really started this year

When we sit alongside manufacturers during business planning, the same insight keeps coming up: The biggest risk to future performance is capability, not capacity.

And interestingly, this shift was often led not from head office or HR, but by operational leaders who were simply tired of fighting the same fires shift after shift. Leaders who realised that unless teams learned to think differently, tomorrow’s metrics would look like yesterday’s.

Those leaning in this year did three things differently.

1. They treated learning as a tool to build  performance, not something to fit in when time allowed
2. They made time for learning even when the roster said no, because not acting meant more time lost later
3. They built pathways that start where people are, instead of hoping for “ready-made” capability to arrive

CI stopped being a programme and became part of daily work because the people closest to the problems were equipped to solve them.

They still firefight, just less often, and with more people able to step in.

Those who invested early aren’t entering 2026 hopeful. They’re more ready, not because everything is perfect, but because when something goes wrong, people know what to do about it.

Your people are capable of more than you may think

Some still hold the view that skill gaps are too big or too hard to tackle. I get it.

Most plants are running hot, and people are tired. But that pressure is exactly why capability matters, not a reason to delay it. Too often training sits at the bottom of the planning agenda. My mission is to help manufacturers see things differently.

This year showed that when workers understand their value and see how they influence outcomes, they bring curiosity and ownership that shift site performance.

Those leading in this space highlighted an important lesson: You don’t need to find better people. You need to unlock the ones you’ve already got.

In 2026, performance won’t come from gear. It’ll come from people.

Industry strategy is starting to catch up to what leading manufacturers already demonstrated: capability is shaping up as the most powerful lever for productivity.

Conversations have shifted. It’s no longer about finding people. It’s about helping the people already there perform differently. Problem-solving in real time, communicating under pressure, leading improvement, using digital tools, and analysing data.

The manufacturers who smash 2026 won’t see these things as waffly soft skills. They’ll see them as skills critical to the bottom line. And they’ll act.

The best bit? The government is ready to chip in with funding that is easy to access. We’ve given our millions of dollars in funding in 2025, and we’re ready to do the same in 2026.

Fast forward 12 months. Which version of you is winning?

Now imagine it’s this time next year.

One version of you spent 2026 waiting for the right moment to prioritise capability.
You struggled to release people for learning. You’re still reacting to performance issues, still relying on a few individuals to hold things together. That new kit you fought so hard for hasn’t delivered half the volume you thought it would.

The other version of you carved out time for building performance skills, even when it hurt. You accessed government funding to grow your people. Your people are solving problems before they become stoppages. Your leaders on the floor are driving improvement without waiting for instruction. New tech has been embraced. Volumes are up. Wastage and rework are down.

Same sector. Same challenges. Different decisions.

The question isn’t “When will we have time?”
It’s “In 12 months, will our people be ready to deliver the performance we’re planning for?”

“If your team isn’t there yet (and for most of us, it isn’t), then capability building is the performance strategy.”

It’s ok to start small. Pick one team.
Start now.
Not when it becomes urgent.

Reach out and let’s have a chat about how The Learning Wave can help your people realise their potential, and drive your results.