“One of the biggest challenges that both U.S. commercial and defense manufacturers face is finding skilled workers who can be successful in an advanced manufacturing, Industry 4.0 environment. Additionally, the lack of standards in advanced manufacturing career pathways make it challenging for job seekers to determine which educational programs make them the most attractive to employers. Our solution, which was crafted with significant input from our consortium members and national workforce experts, plans to solve these challenges and ultimately help the U.S. manufacturing economy thrive.” - Lisa Masciantonio, Chief Workforce Officer at ARM.
The U.S. manufacturing sector faces a significant problem that has been compounded by trade challenges and the pandemic: a quickly growing skills gap. A 2018 report by The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte found that 4.6 million jobs will need to be filled in the sector over the next decade, and 2.4 million of these jobs may go unfilled due to a lack of trained workers. Increasing the use of robotics will play a critical role in returning the U.S. to a global leadership position in manufacturing, but workers need to be trained to work alongside robots. This can only occur through a concerted effort to develop the needed workforce by identifying and standardizing the required competencies and skills, promoting and enhancing the educational resources, and sharing the available jobs in a comprehensive, yet easily accessible manner.
Project
ARM plans to provide up to $2M for the initial launch of a public website focused on robotics careers in advanced manufacturing.
The project’s goal is to assemble and validate a national database and map of educational programs and resources that provide the skills required for today’s advanced manufacturing careers, with a focus on robotics. The database will be hosted on a public website and will span the full spectrum of programs, from micro-credentials through PhDs, that help to prepare U.S. citizens for careers in advanced manufacturing in both the commercial and defense sectors. These vetted educational programs will correspond to the career pathways and competencies established by the ARM Member Consortium and its partners. Learn more.
Objective
The Project Teams will work to gather the first programs listed on this public website. Once the site launches, schools and programs may submit their own information for publication on the site, so long as it aligns with ARM’s standards.
Technical Approach
Three regional project teams will work on collecting and validating data with support from Fivestar* Development. The public website will launch first to members-only with an anticipated soft launch at the ARM Annual Member Meeting. ARM plans to launch the website publicly in 2021.
