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An Insider's Guide to Making Impactful Change in Manufacturing and Training
NEW from Photonics Media Press!
Transformation is underway in the modern factory and new options exist for training digital factory workers. The New Collar Workforce is a guide to these changes for people working in
- production management,
- human resources,
- economic development and
- education.
U.S. manufacturing companies are expected to face a shortage of 2 million skilled workers by the year 2020, according to reports. As a result, manufacturers and educators everywhere are looking for real, actionable ideas to train workers, reduce the shortfall and realize the potential of the new age of manufacturing that is upon us.
Author Sarah Boisvert is a co-founder of the commercial division of Potomac Photonics Inc. of Baltimore, Md., where she worked to commercialize a proprietary RF-discharge excimer laser. She currently serves as the company’s chief 3D printing officer.
At the core of this very timely and easy-to-read book is the undeniable passion the author has for the subject – it is one she has lived and breathed for many years – and the results of her survey of the worker needs U.S. manufacturers are facing, an effort that was supported in part by a contribution from the Verizon Foundation.
The “new collar” workers that manufacturers seek have the digital skills needed to “run automation and software, design in CAD, program sensors, maintain robots, repair 3D printers, and collect and analyze data,” according to the author. Educational systems must evolve to supply Industry 4.0 with new collar workers, and this book leads the reader to innovative organizations that are recreating training programs for a new age in manufacturing.
The author’s call to action is clear: “We live in a time of extraordinary opportunity to look to the future and fundamentally change manufacturing jobs but also to show people the value in new collar jobs and to create nontraditional pathways to engaging, fulfilling careers in the digital factory. If industry is to invigorate and revitalize manufacturing, it must start with the new collar workers who essentially make digital fabrication for Industry 4.0 possible.”
If you hire, train or manage a manufacturing workforce; educate or parent students who are searching for a career path; or are exploring a career change, you should read this book.