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www.us-
tech.com
March, 2019
From Assembly Line to Automation: FIRST Sheds Light on High-Tech Manufacturing Career Opportunities
By Joseph Federico, Director of Operations, NJMET, Inc. T
oday’s manufacturing industries have a per- ception problem, particularly among baby boomers and certain sectors of millennials. An enormous amount of the public’s focus on man-
design, programming, installation, and service. Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute
recently published the “2018 Skills Gap Study,” which found that 50 percent of manufacturers have already adopted automation. Currently, five out of ten skilled positions remain unfilled due to an ongoing skills gap crisis. The rapid pace of technological change in the
industry has generated jobs that current manufac- turing workers are not trained to do and require skills that students are not developing. While manufacturers are steadily creating more jobs, the skills gap is only increasing. The lack of workers with the appropriate technical skills is expected to result in about 2.4 million jobs remaining unfilled from 2018 to 2028. But, the shift in necessary skillsets only
Students control their custom-built
robots during a FIRST robotics competition championship match
(Photo credit: Adriana Groisman).
ufacturing stems from 20th Century thought and is associated with assembly lines, manual labor and blue-collar jobs. In the 21st Century, amid a revitalization of
manufacturing known as Industry 4.0, jobs in this arena have become increasingly high-tech and con- tinue to adopt new technologies and create new opportunities. This is happening at an accelerating pace, with increased demand on production,
accounts for 36 percent of the unfilled positions. Misperceptions of the industry, which prevent peo- ple from pursuing manufacturing careers, are the top contributing factor to the skills gap. A “2017 U.S. Public Opinion of Manufacturing” study, also produced by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, found that one-third of Americans would not encourage their children to pursue careers in manufacturing. If the skills gap is not bridged and mispercep-
tions about manufacturing jobs are not corrected, approximately $2.5 trillion in manufacturing GDP will be at risk over the next decade. This is where FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) has come onto the scene.
Team “The Flying Platypi,” out of Colfax,
North Carolina, adjusts their robot before a match at the FIRST championship (Photo credit: Adriana Groisman).
Manchester, New Hampshire, FIRST tackles both sides of the skills gap — training and perception. Through its four core programs, FIRST engages children and teens in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields and helps them develop critical tech skills through fun, hands-on robotic challenges. Over the past year
Continued on page 62
Engaging Youth with Science and Technology
Founded in 1989, FIRST is a 501(c)(3) non-
profit dedicated to fostering the interest of young people in science and technology. Based in
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