Industry leaders Rockwell Automation and ManpowerGroup have launched a groundbreaking partnership to upskill a new breed of ‘advanced digital manufacturing’ workers.
With the US manufacturing sector estimated to produce up to 3.5 million new jobs over the next decade, the country is facing a serious skill shortage that is threatening to leave close to 2.5 million manufacturing roles unfilled.
Recognising the skills gap and the need to fuel advanced manufacturing, the two Milwaukee-based companies identified the thousands of veterans exiting the military every year as a talented, skilled and underutilised source to fill these emerging roles.
Rockwell Automation’s CEO Blake Moret said the program will upskill 1,000 veterans per year by 2018, leveraging the deep domain knowledge of Rockwell Automation in advanced manufacturing, together with ManpowerGroup’s global insight into changing skills needs and workforce solutions to power the future of manufacturing in the US.
“By bringing together the expertise and experience of the world’s largest company devoted exclusively to industrial productivity with the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, we’ve been able to develop a truly groundbreaking program that will help solve a challenge critical to fuelling the future growth of the manufacturing sector,” Mr Moret said.
“Military veterans possess a unique combination of technical savvy and core work skills that makes them well-positioned for careers in today’s advanced manufacturing environments.”
ManpowerGroup’s Chairman and CEO Jonas Prising said this new and innovative technical retraining program will address the anticipated skills shortage in the advanced manufacturing sector, rapidly upskilling and placing veterans in high-demand roles in as little as four months.
“We are seeing the emergence of a Skills Revolution today — where helping people upskill and adapt to this fast-changing world of work will be the defining challenge of our time,” Mr Prising added.
“This initiative is a great example of very intense workforce development. We’re using proven training programs and adapting them for talented veterans who bring valuable skills and experience to the workplace. In return, we’re equipping them for sustainable careers in a fast-growing industry and increasing their earning potential at the same time. It’s a winning formula.”
