Posted to News on 7th Aug 2020, 09:52
IFR predicts high demand for post-Corona "Robotics skills"
According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), by 2022, there will be an operational stock of almost 4 million industrial robots working in factories worldwide. They will, it says, play a vital role in automating production to speed up the post-Corona economy. At the same time, robots are also driving demand for skilled workers and the Federation says that educational systems must adjust to this demand. "Governments and companies around the globe now need to focus on providing the right skills necessary to work with robots and intelligent automation systems," says Milton Guerry, President of the International Federation of Robotics. "This is important to take maximum advantage of the opportunities that these technologies offer. The post-Corona recovery will further accelerate the deployment of robotics. Policies and strategies are important to help workforces make the transition to a more automated economy."
"Very few countries are taking the bull by the horns when it comes to adapting education systems for the age of automation," said Saadia Zahidi at the World Economic Forum. "Those that are, have long had a clear focus on human capital development. Countries in northern Europe, as well as Singapore are probably running some of the most useful experiments for the future world of work." The "automation readiness index" published by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) claims that only four countries have already established mature education policies to deal with the challenges of an automated economy. South Korea is the category leader, followed by Estonia, Singapore and Germany. Countries like Japan, the US and France are developed and China was ranked as emerging. The EIU summed up the order of the day for governments: more study, multi-stakeholder dialogue and international knowledge sharing.
On a company level, change-hiring is an option as a short-term strategy: "If you can 't find the experienced people, you have to break down your hiring practices to skill sets and not titles," advises Dr Byron Clayton, as CEO of Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) at the IFR Roundtable in Chicago. "You have to hire more for potential. If you can't find the person who is experienced then you have to find a person that has potential to learn that job." Robot suppliers support the education of the workforce with practice-oriented training. "Re-training the existing workforce is only a short-term measure. We must already start way earlier - curricula for schools and undergraduate education need to match the demand of the industry for the workforce of the future. Demand for technical and digital skills is increasing, but equally important are cognitive skills like problem-solving and critical thinking", says Dr Susanne Bieller, IFR's General Secretary. "Economies must embrace automation and build the skills required to profit - otherwise they will be at a competitive disadvantage."
