Redefining Work: Upskilling in a Rapidly Changing Workforce
The workforce shortage in the industrial sector is expected to culminate in 2.1 million unfulfilled jobs by 2030. Considering it is already 2025, we don’t have that much time to course correct this issue. Developing the future workforce and upskilling the current is essential to address this challenge, especially as companies further integrate new technologies.
A Balancing Act
The need for a significant focus on talent doesn’t just come down to filling open positions. It is also a demand of the current state of the workforce. Companies face two realities - the loss of a retiring workforce that embodies the skills required for the traditional running of operations and an incoming cohort of younger professionals that are more technically savvy. Establishing a balance between the two that maintains ongoing and new expertise is important to workforce stability, which 71% of US manufacturers struggle with according to a World Economic Forum report.
Technology and the Workforce
Of course, in striking that balance, companies must also factor in the rise of AI, automation, and the digitization of operations. Although “McKinsey research shows that up to 30 percent of current worked hours may potentially be replaced through automation by 2030,” as explained in a report from the organization, people will remain a core part of running tasks. The reality is that the workplaces of the near future will just be more of a mix in which people and technical advances are collaborating on production. That is where upskilling plays a particularly critical role.
As the NIST points out, “Manufacturers should consider offering training programs that cover AI, machine learning, and robotics, ensuring their employees are ready for the future of manufacturing.” AI can also serve as a tool within this upskilling. Smart Industry reports that manufacturing companies are starting to invest in AI solutions designed specifically to provide guidance.
Education is also key, not only to upskilling but to training the future generation. In February, Apple announced a $500 billion investment over the next four years in U.S.-focused manufacturing efforts, including a new academy for skills in process optimization and more.
Sources:
● “Way out of the talent shortage: AI as a catalyst for a workforce surge” - Raj Badarinath, Smart Industry
● “Putting Talent at the Centre: An Evolving Imperative for Manufacturing” - World Economic Forum
● “The critical role of strategic workforce planning in the age of AI” - Neel Gandhi, Randy Lim, Sandra Durth, Vincent Bérubé, & Kritvi Kedia, McKinsey & Company
● “What’s Coming for US Manufacturing in 2025” - G. Nagesh Rao and Jyoti K. Malhotra, NIST
https://www.nist.gov/blogs/manufacturing-innovation-blog/whats-coming-us-manufacturing-2025
● “How Will Apple’s $500 Billion Investment for US Manufacturing, Education, and AI Play Out?” - Association for Advancing Automation