The aerospace industry in Maryland and across the Washington region may face an employee shortage in the coming years as baby boomers leave the work force and the supply of engineers and scientists continues to dwindle, industry officials said Monday at a workforce conference sponsored by the state of Maryland.

“The problem is going to be very real,” said Greg Hodges, director of human resources for Northrop Grumman, speaking on a panel about employee retention. The pipeline of new recruits “currently doesn’t look strong enough to support the retirements,” he said.