Preparing Technicians for the Future of Work

In 2020, Intel and the Maricopa Community College District issued a joint press releases announcing their partnership to launch the first associate degree program in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Carlos Contreras with Intel notes a sense of urgency around this technology because of the speed at which it is being adopted by a wide variety of industry sectors. Partnerships between educational institutions and industry provide a collaborative model that is custom-built to address the speed of the transition in the region. Working together, the colleges and Intel hope to bring the U.S. workforce up to the AI skill level of countries such as South Korea, India, Singapore. In this episode, Bassam Matar from Chandler Gilbert Community College describes the design and roll-out of their AAS degree and certificate program, both of which have no prerequisites for entry and are designed to expand digital readiness for the future of work. Ultimately, says Contreras, as a company, Intel's goal "by 2030 is to reach 30 countries, 30,000 institutions and get 30 million students skilled in artificial intelligence."

Over the last decade, collaborative robot technology has really gained traction in the automation market. Collaborative robots (cobots) can safely operate in close proximity to skilled human operators and are very easy to deploy and use, explains Joe Campbell of Universal Robots. Cobot programming is very simple in contrast to traditional robots so technicians can learn the fundamentals within a few hours through UR’s online academy. This accessibility conveys an added benefit—it helps combat the perception that manufacturing is dull, dirty, and dangerous, a misconception that steers younger technicians away from the field. And for incumbent workers, deploying cobots may mean moving a technician into a higher-value assignment.

Dave Vasko, Director of Advanced Technologies at Rockwell Automation, describes how the increasing sophistication and capabilities of technologies coming to the manufacturing floor — technologies such as AI and the anticipated hybridization of large-scale robots with slower more independent cobots – are creating a lot of complexity for the technician. Going forward, he says, technicians will require different skills: the ability to configure networks and firewalls, to operate equipment remotely and collaboratively, and to troubleshoot the initial commissioning of equipment using digital twins with virtual reality, just to name a few. The approach to programming is changing as well, from writing code from scratch to starting with a library of possible code that can be applied and then debugged at the machine. This convergence of OT with IT means that it is, as Vasko notes, an exciting time to be in manufacturing.

Having been part of a company that distributes, rebuilds and services machine tool for nearly 40 years, Terry Iverson has seen many changes in CNC and in manufacturing overall. In this episode, he shares his perspectives on the factors driving CNC manufacturing today——global competitiveness, reshoring, and the need for younger employees; explains the unique characteristics of the four types of control systems; and describes the impact of emerging technologies. Where is industry going next with additive manufacturing and cobots? And what impact will this have on the education of entry-level technicians?

In today’s VUCA environment characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, explains Mark Maybury, Chief Technology Officer for Stanley Black & Decker, new technicians will need digital skills, "soft" skills, and the ability to be a lifelong learner. New, emerging jobs in a subset some call "gray collar," require not just hands-on skills and mechanical knowledge but also digital skills in computing, data analytics, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Technicians who learn new knowledge and skills the fastest and contribute the most and collaborate most effectively will be the ones who will succeed. In addition to being able to collaborate, they will need to be good at listening and very good at understanding and empathizing. A combination of "hard" skills and "soft" skills are the key things sought from job candidates in a constantly changing future workplace.

Before the Internet of Things, a technician would hook a digital multimeter up to a sensor, measure the output and evaluate whether equipment is running properly. Now there are smart sensors that have built-in diagnostics built. The technician’s job has expanded beyond taking rudimentary measurements and making a judgment call. Erik Fogleman from ConnStep, a consulting firm that works with Connecticut’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership, explains why today’s technicians need to learn how machines talk to each other and to the cloud and edge computing systems. They need to learn communications protocols that dictate how devices talk to each other, how to configure them, and how to troubleshoot them when they are not communicating. It’s not about more intelligent machines replacing technicians, but about machines providing technicians with more accurate “actionable intelligence.”

While nine or ten technologies are often categorized as critical to Industry 4.0, in this episode Marilyn Barger and Richard Gilbert highlight the skills needed for the four that will impact manufacturing technicians over the next four to five years in their daily operational mode: simulation, the industrial internet of things, autonomous robots, and additive/subtractive manufacturing (and associated materials). Technicians working with each of these technologies will need specific skill sets. Which skills are most sought by industry? Are instructors on the same page? Using data gathered from surveys of Florida manufacturers and educators, Barger and Gilbert discovered gaps—sometimes gaps in prioritization of skills that need to be taught, and other times perspective gaps based on vocabulary used by each group to talk about the skills—and also many points of agreement between the two groups.

What are the cross-cutting skills–the skills vital for all future STEM technicians, regardless of discipline, to practice in order to be successful? Matthew Carter from Cook Medical, a manufacturing company, shares that it is vitally important for technicians to be able to gather data, present information, and balance the technical aspects of a project with its business considerations as well as perform what are considered more traditional technical skills. They also must be able to work in cross-functional teams. He notes that medical device manufacturing is not different from other industries in at least one regard: as quality demands continue to increase, the consistency of the product is very important. In this episode, we talk about how the data, the technology, and the people work together like gears interacting with one another to maintain process efficiency and product quality.

Even in the best times, it can be a challenge keeping employers engaged and interested in supporting your college technical programs. We know that it is important for programs to maintain strong industry partnerships, but what does that look like in a rapidly changing business and education environment? For starters, it means cultivating a champion within companies, a champion who shares information about your program and its graduates and who can envision the return on investment from engagement. That ROI might be as simple as increased community visibility from event sponsorship or as multifaceted as future employee recruitment. In this episode, Jill Zande, Associate Director at the Marine Advanced Technology Education Center in Monterey, California examines how professional societies—in this case the Marine Technology Society—and companies can be champions for educational initiatives. She also discusses how sponsoring the ROV (underwater remotely operated vehicle) Competition World Championship each year provides both types of ROI.

As the Western Region Buildings and Systems Engineering Training Manager at UPS, David Ayala has seen the company go from humans manually sorting packages by zip code—way back in 1999—to today’s increasingly automated processes. Moving from standard motor control to PLCs, camera scanners, and mechanical devices has increased efficiency, leading to increased capacity and the need to double their staff of automation technicians and maintenance mechanics in some cases. New hires need to be multi-skilled, with troubleshooting, mechanical, and welding experience preferred. Most importantly, they need to be able to perform reliably under pressure in an industry where time is a make-or-break factor. Predictive maintenance is one of the keys to successful operations at UPS.