A recent ABB 2022 survey of US and European business leaders found that 74% of European companies and 70% of US companies plan to reshore or nearshore operations. rice field. Respondents say they are reshoring to build supply chain resilience in response to labor shortages, the need for a more sustainable global footprint, and global uncertainty said.

But factories back in the U.S. need workers to work, and research has revealed a wide educational gap in the skills factory workers need. With 75% of European companies surveyed and 62% of US companies planning to invest in robotics and automation over the next three years, workers will need automation skills. will shape the future of employment for the next decade, yet only a quarter of educational institutions currently use robots as part of their educational programs.

“To prepare our current and future workforce for success in the era of robotics and automation, we need to invest heavily in continuing education. It is important not only to prepare, but also to create a prosperous society in the future,” said Sami Atiya. The president of ABB’s Robotics & Discrete Automation business said:

To fill the skills gap, ABB has enhanced its global robotics and automation education program with new training centers, including a €100 million global innovation and training campus in Austria. The new site, along with other new regional training centers in the UK, Berlin and Brazil, expands ABB’s training facilities to more than 40 sites worldwide, serving more than 30,000 students, apprentices and workers in schools, colleges and universities. I teach every year.

These sites add to ABB’s existing educational offerings, which consist of software packages such as ABB’s Wizard Easy programming, RobotStudio, RobotStudio AR viewer apps, and hardware in the form of collaborative robot cells and application packages. Through more than 100 global partnerships with schools and colleges, ABB works with education providers to create curriculum materials to educate future generations and help prepare them for tomorrow’s jobs.

“Change is needed now,” added Atiya. “As companies turn to robotic automation to fill labor shortages, improve efficiency and increase resilience, workers are using automation to get the job done and develop the skills to enhance their role. We need the set: Businesses must join forces and work with educational institutions and governments to prepare society for the jobs of the future. We can extract value from ongoing re-industrialization.”