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JA, MJSA To Sponsor Roundtable at TJS
The discussion, "Rebuilding the Jewelry Workforce," will take place on Saturday, May 16, in Troy, Michigan.
The MJSA Education Foundation and Jewelers of America will host a roundtable discussion at The Jewelry Symposium this weekend.
New York—This weekend, the MJSA Education Foundation and Jewelers of America will co-sponsor a roundtable discussion on attracting and retaining talent across the industry.
The discussion, “Rebuilding the Jewelry Workforce,” will be held in connection with The Jewelry Symposium (TJS) in Troy, Michigan. It will take place Saturday, May 16, prior to TJS’s kick-off dinner.
It will serve as a sequel to last year’s TJS roundtable, during which participants discussed industry-wide difficulties in the hiring and retention of skilled labor. Notes from the 2025 roundtable are available to download here.
The 2026 roundtable will review those challenges, and presenters will share their strategies for recruiting, training, and retaining qualified staff.
Related stories will be right here …
The discussion, “Rebuilding the Jewelry Workforce,” will be held in connection with The Jewelry Symposium (TJS) in Troy, Michigan. It will take place Saturday, May 16, prior to TJS’s kick-off dinner.
It will serve as a sequel to last year’s TJS roundtable, during which participants discussed industry-wide difficulties in the hiring and retention of skilled labor. Notes from the 2025 roundtable are available to download here.
The 2026 roundtable will review those challenges, and presenters will share their strategies for recruiting, training, and retaining qualified staff.
The presenters include Elisabeth Gillett, an award-winning art/jewelry teacher at Albuquerque High School in New Mexico. Gillett created the Jewelry Uplift program to teach jewelry-making skills to her students and raise awareness of craft as a career opportunity.
Erica Meier, a faculty member and studio technician in the jewelry and metalsmithing program at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, will be presenting as well. She will touch on efforts to create academic-business alliances through internships.
Linus Drogs, president of Au Enterprises in Troy, Michigan, and chair of TJS’s board, will also present. He will share his experience employing interns at his facility.
The event will also feature the results of surveys conducted by TJS, JA, and the MJSA Education Foundation, which contain information about the goals and expectations of both job seekers and employers.
A discussion will follow in which attendees can share their own staffing experiences and offer solutions for the future.
TJS 2026 will take place May 16–19 at the Detroit Marriott Troy.
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