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TRAINING & SKILLS AUTOMATION, EDUCATION AND MOTIVATION:
TRAINING THE WORKFORCE OF THE FUTURE
Automation is set to transform the world of work, requiring people to learn new skill sets as new roles are created. Making that happen is the responsibility not just of workers but also of policymakers, educators, and industry, as Paul Garner, Account Manager, Education & Collaborative Robots for ABB Robotics UK, explains...
utomation is offering business owners new opportunities to streamline their operations by using technology to carry out tasks faster, more efficiently and with minimal risk of error. In manufacturing and distribution applications, robots are being used to handle an expanding array of tasks that have traditionally been carried out by human workers.
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Yet the future workplace will increasingly see humans and robots working together to make production and operations faster, more efficient and resilient. Few people want to do dull, dirty, and potentially dangerous jobs anymore. This has led to a labour gap in unskilled work as well as a shortage in some labour-intensive but skilled jobs like welding. It is this shortage of labour that is driving automation, with global robot density accelerating especially in the transportation and storage, manufacturing, and construction industries.
Automation is also the result of a growing need for faster, more flexible performance and the need to be able to respond quickly to changing requirements. In the e-commerce sector, robots are providing the answer to meeting tight margins, fast turnaround times and sudden variations in orders, as well as unexpected changes in consumer behaviour. Similarly, in manufacturing applications, the
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flexibility, accuracy, and consistency of robots is helping to ensure that goods are produced correctly with no reprocessing, waste, or excessive energy use.
It’s not just about getting it right first time. Technology, aided by AI and machine learning, can make operations more sustainable through supporting or enabling such processes as recovery, recycling and remanufacturing. Irish technology start-up FPD Recycling, for example, has taken the first major step in tackling the waste generated by the estimated nine million computer and TV flat panel displays (FPDs) sold every year in the UK. By installing the country’s first fully- automated, robotic system of its kind at electronics-recycling specialist Areera in Elland, West Yorkshire, the company is helping to process and recycle complex and potentially hazardous e-waste.
While a growing range of manual tasks are being automated, this doesn’t mean that fewer jobs will be available. Estimates from the World Economic Forum[1] in 2020, for example, predict that by 2025, technology will generate at least 12 million more jobs than it displaces, opening possibilities for the creation of new roles. As this happens, it will be the responsibility of education and training to help equip both future and current workforces with the necessary skillsets.
Initially the requirements of automation itself will boost the jobs market. As the number of robots being deployed grows, so too will the demand for engineers and qualified technicians who can programme, operate, service and maintain them. The list of jobs they could be doing includes robot maintenance programming and skills training, data analysis, process automation, automation procurement, and multiple engineering, design, safety and planning jobs. All these new posts will be enabled by the switch to more automated systems. The increased role of AI, machine learning, big data, VR and AR, sensing and remote communications, to name only a few drivers, will further expand the job market. Automation will even extend its influence into some less obvious areas. One potential growth area is ‘green’ roles, where automated technologies, including robots, are being deployed in applications such as vertical farming, renewable energy, green construction, sustainable fashion, remanufacturing, and recycling. Another benefit will be greater diversity. With its reliance on heavy manual labour, the manufacturing sector especially has traditionally been male dominated. But when such work becomes automated, and manufacturing becomes more about
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