The industrial automation industry is facing a significant engineering talent shortage, with companies struggling to find experienced controls engineers, PLC programmers, and automation specialists. Traditional approaches like early-career hiring and process documentation help, but they don’t solve the immediate skills gap on the plant floor.

In this episode, we explore how modern automation hardware and software platforms can reduce engineering complexity, accelerate machine integration, and enable faster onboarding of new engineers and technicians. By selecting the right automation technology, manufacturers and system integrators can improve productivity while reducing reliance on hard-to-find senior talent.

We highlight several advanced automation solutions available through Automation Distribution that are transforming industrial control system design:

• Yaskawa iCube: A unified industrial control platform that combines PLC, motion control, HMI, and safety into one system, simplifying machine architecture and reducing integration time
• Yaskawa Sigma-X servo drives and SMC electric actuators: High-performance motion control solutions that eliminate manual servo tuning and pneumatic inefficiencies
• Zebra Photoneo vision systems and Universal Robots (UR) with PolyScope X: User-friendly robotics and machine vision technologies that enable faster deployment without specialized programming expertise
• WAGO Compact Controller 100 with CODESYS: A modern PLC platform aligned with industry-standard programming environments, making it easier to train and onboard engineers

If your organization is struggling with the automation skills gap, the solution isn’t just hiring—it’s choosing smarter, more accessible technology. Learn how to reduce commissioning time, streamline industrial automation systems, and build a more scalable, efficient engineering team.

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