Protecting the future of automation through education

Published on 28 Feb 2023 by The Manufacturer

UK production remains in desperate requirement of present and future abilities to stay worldwide competitive. Secret to this is guaranteeing that automation and robotics are integrated in to education programs, enabling a digitally qualified future labor force, according to Oliver Selby, Head of Sales at FANUC UK

According to ONS information^[1]practically one fifth of all employees in the UK production market is aged 55 or over. Less than 10% are aged in between 16 and 24. Over the next years, 20% of the labor force will retire, taking with them years of engineering and production proficiency.

If UK production is to stay globally competitive, we require to prioritise the advancement of an experienced pipeline– that is, individuals who can develop, construct, program, incorporate, run and keep producing innovations. We likewise require to greatly accept automation as a path to countering inexperienced workers scarcities and increasing performance.

In spite of having a strong production market, the UK drags other industrialised countries in its uptake of automation. According to the International Federation of Robotics’ 2022 report, robotic density in the UK production market was 111 robotics per 10,000 workers in 2021, which is really low for a Western European nation (Germany, in contrast, has 397 per 10,000 workers).

I think that together, financial investment in education and competence can accelerate our adoption of automation and go a long method towards attending to the issues dealing with UK production.

Industry-relevant certifications for Gen Zs

FANUC strongly thinks that education is the essential to protecting and supporting a pipeline of brand-new production skill. The material of university degrees is currently altering to end up being more market associated, and school leavers now have the choice of studying for degrees such as an MSc in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics and a BEng in Robotic Engineering. There are still just 30 universities in the UK offering undergraduate courses in robotics and automation. We can see an expanding space in the arrangement of post-GCSE technical education, where there is a requirement for more hands-on training in genuine life engineering settings.

We are deeply dedicated to supporting automation education at lower structure level through both our Training Academy and the shipment of robotic devices to training areas such as schools and technical colleges. In the last 12 months, we have actually provided more than 25 robotics to finding out centres in the UK to support present and future education requirements.

---

---

Our Training Academy at our Coventry HQ is presently going through independent recognition, after which FANUC UK will turn into one of the very first automation business to use certified courses that can feed into traditional education, with credits gotten versus a specific ability. Trainees will acquire important hands-on experience in locations such as operating, programs, repairing and incorporating robotics whilst protecting credits towards their credentials. This industry-led approach will considerably benefit the brand-new T-Level awards, which have actually been created to attempt and fix the ever-growing abilities space dilemma.

This brand-new engagement in between education and market, which will introduce in the UK in the coming months, will mirror the United States design where FANUC has actually been blazing a path in the roll-out of licensed education programs for robotics and automation. It is hoped that promoting a close, equally helpful cooperation in between market and education service providers will be the secret to the success of the brand-new T-Level system and be specifically the direct intervention we require to draw in more youthful individuals to production.

Structure internal automation resource

Bring in brand-new blood to the market is simply one part of the difficulty. Establishing that skill into genuine market knowledge that ends up being a source of competitive benefit is similarly crucial. And this is what financial investment in automation is actually about– not simply purchasing a robotic and awaiting it to repay in the standard labour-saving sense however developing automation as a core function within service designs.

There are a variety of advantages to developing strong internal automation abilities. As decreasing dependence on 3rd celebrations, this technique supports personnel retention and promotes development from the within. Business can determine where the chances lie within their own organizations, comprehend how automation can improve their centers and utilize it to increase their efficiency levels; something which the UK presently has problem with on the global phase (a German employee is around 30% an hour more efficient than a UK employee).

This pattern is currently beginning to play out in markets such as vehicle production and the circulation and e-commerce fulfilment sector, where prominent companies are enjoying the benefits of structure internal automation groups. As the UK embraces more robotics and automation throughout various aspects of market and production, our forecast is that more business will take a look at developing their own internal automation groups.

Automation systems: representatives for modification

Automation provides an option to a number of difficulties dealing with producers today, from inexperienced labour scarcities and increasing item quality to squander decrease. Understanding its capacity will need a severe joint dedication by the production and automation neighborhoods to develop abilities and support the next generation of engineers. Here at FANUC UK, we are figured out to be an essential driving force for modification.

---

Learn more on People & Skills here