- A new report by Schneider Electric reveals that 45% of industrial companies believe that digitalization will be the main driver of new operational technology (OT) job roles over the next three years.
- The study reveals a widespread industrial skills shortage, with over half of the surveyed companies (52%) identifying talent acquisition as a critical challenge.
The research, conducted in partnership with Omdia, surveyed 407 industrial companies across the US, Western Europe, China, India, and Southeast Asia. It suggests that digitalization could be a potential solution to the skills crisis, with 70% of respondents agreeing that it could help tackle talent shortages, particularly in roles requiring robotics programming, data processing and analytics.
Sustainability goals and advanced technologies such as AI and digital twins are also influencing changes in the industrial workplace. About 45% and 47% of companies, respectively, believe that meeting environmental and sustainability goals will necessitate a significant extension of current job roles in their plants.
Furthermore, a majority of respondents (60%) predict changes in OT roles in the next three years, either moderately (41%) or significantly (19%). The nature of work itself is also expected to evolve due to digitalization, with 73% of the participants agreeing on this factor.
Although finding and retaining talent was identified as a challenge by 52% of the surveyed companies, they are optimistic about overcoming these workforce challenges. In the next three years, industrial companies predict emerging requirements for new skills in areas like robotics programming and data processing.
The report suggests that industrial companies should collaborate with ecosystem partners to address technology skills gaps and prepare their workforce for the future.
However, the research also highlights a disparity in investment priorities. While data processing, visualization, and analytics are high priorities, robotics programming and integration are only viewed as medium priority by nearly half of the respondents. This indicates a need for industrial companies to reassess their digital transformation strategies and talent development initiatives.
The complete findings of the report titled “The Future of Work in Industry” are accessible here.