Building a Better Engineering Technology Graduate

The application of technology in the industrial workplace has led to unprecedented productivity and quality advances over the last 30 years.Companies have transformed the way they do business from huge behemoths using a large labor pool as their primary resource, to lean, "right sized" organizations that use automation, systems, and the collection and usage of data to reduce operational costs.This has allowed U.S. industries to remain competitive in a global market despite rising labor costs."From 2018 to 2020, global robot installations are estimated to increase by at least 15% on average per year (CAGR): 15% in the Americas and in Asia/Australia, and 11% in Europe.Total global sales will reach about 520,900 units in 2020.Between 2017 and 2020, it is estimated that more than 1.7 million new industrial robots will be installed in factories around the world.Due to the dynamic development of robot installations since 2010, the robot density in the United States increased significantly from 114 installed robots per 10,000 employees in the manufacturing industry in 2009 to 189 robots in 2016."(1) This data refers to robotic applications, but the same trends hold true for automation in general, as it applies to this discussion.By leveraging technology, you can reduce the number of people required to run an operation, but there is a shift in the job function and subsequently the skillset required to perform those remaining jobs.This shift is one that requires more interaction with the technology.One of the challenges that has resulted from this higher level of technology is the shortage of people with the skills to apply and maintain it.This is compounded by a workforce whose training and experience can become, somewhat obsolete over time.After the downsizing that took place during the last recession, the remaining staff were typically tasked with additional responsibilities.This has now become the norm.The lines of demarcation are also becoming blurred in a lot of job descriptions.Engineers need, in addition to their discipline of study, a reasonable understanding of various other engineering disciplines.Job candidates that have these skills are in short supply and the competition to hire them is very strong.Many jobs go unfilled for months for the lack of qualified people.