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John W. Kennedy, Ph.D. There is a constant wrangling over the traits of various generations; whether that be baby boomer, millennial, Gen-X, Gen-Y, Gen-Z or even the Generation Jones. While each decade brings change in the workforce, one thing remains true: skilled labor will always be necessary. However, manufacturing roles will evolve over time and laborers must adapt to new technologies to compete in their fields as the pending Fourth Industrial Revolution will impact the manufacturing industry. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres. It is marked by emerging technology breakthroughs in a number of fields, including robotics, artificial intelligence, blockchain, nanotechnology, quantum computing, and biotechnology. Part of preparing for these emerging technological breakthroughs in manufacturing—particularly in the robotics sector—means embracing opportunities through additive, or hybrid careers. Hybrid jobs are the future of manufacturing, especially those that implement robotics. Misconceptions portray robotics as the demise of manufacturing jobs. But, it’s quite the opposite. Robots don’t eliminate the need for skilled laborers—human involvement is needed to accomplish robotic tasks. Examples of such positions include: Machinist with Computerized Numeric Controls (CNC) programming experience CNC programmers and operators Robotics technicians Quality technicians Industrial engineers CAD-CAM designers Mechatronics experts It is said that this ”fast-food generation” of today demands immediate results: If there’s no instant gratification, then it is not worth the wait or the effort. Naturally, it’s easier to program a robot to do the work as quickly and efficiently as possible. But the end result will not happen without human involvement. The benefits of implementing collaborative robotics into manufacturing include: New career paths. In addition to complementing already existing manufacturing jobs, robotics can create new positions Programming repetitive tasks so workers can focus on other […]