What's Next? The Future of Work for Manufacturing Technicians

There is much talk about the Future of Work and future workspaces. What will the job look like and how will people work in these spaces? But was does that look like for manufacturing when we focus on the production floor? What does it mean to the future of work for engineering technicians working in these facilities? This paper explores the data collected in Florida from 2-year college engineering technician educators and manufacturers. Four Industry 4.0 (I-4.0) technology areas that directly impact the technicians on Industry 4.0 technologies and the skills needed to set up, operate, troubleshoot, and maintain the equipment related to these emerging technologies in the next 5 years. The paper identifies the four identified technologies that will be specifically important for technicians are: autonomous robots, simulation, Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) and Fabrication (Additive and Subtractive) and Advanced Materials. The questionnaire results reveal a few significant gaps between educators and manufacturers; some skills that neither group thought would be important, as well as skills that all agreed, would be important for technicians in the near future. This paper reports on the aggregated data results from both groups and the identified priorities. It will also report on the National Science Foundation-funded Caucus of manufacturers and educators held to better understand the identified Future of Work technician skills and what they mean in the workplace. The caucus will also review and prioritize the needed skills identified and make recommendations for the shrinking the defined gaps with additional content and activities for educational programs designed with both educators and industry partners.