Industry 4.0 has arrived, with its focus on interconnectivity, automation, machine learning and real-time data promising to deliver a new golden age for manufacturing. But there’s one big problem: the rate of innovation is outpacing employees’ skills.
The skills shortage that’s hit many industries is especially acute in manufacturing, where an existing skills gap was exacerbated by the pandemic. According to Deloitte, US manufacturing alone is expected to have 2.1 million unfilled jobs by 2030. Elsewhere the firm’s research shows that attracting and retaining a quality workforce is a top focus for 83 percent of manufacturers, with almost 45 percent of manufacturing execs being forced to turn down business opportunities due to lack of workers.
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