This was a question recently posed to me. In manufacturing, the rate of automation has been seen as increasing and the employment opportunities remain low. Really? In my experiences, manufacturing-sector employers cannot find enough workers with the skills they need and are increasingly turning to robotics to free up existing workers for the more challenging jobs for which employees cannot be found. I recently visited a CNC firm and talked to the Training Facilitator about just this. His reply may be surprising to some but validates what I have seen here in the Chicago suburbs. He said that not one person has lost a job there with the introduction of more automation and robotics in their manufacturing cells. Not only has quality risen with the removal of humans from tedious jobs such as optical inspection or packaging, but displaced workers were given additional training for more complex jobs resulting in higher pay for them. Furthermore, the increased quality resulted in more company-wide bonuses for all employees. And increased quality begets more sales as customers give them more work which again fuels the need for more trained workers. As quoted by Sam Byford in The Verge, http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/24/3910558/factory-automation-wont-kill-jobs Matt Tyler, president of auto parts company Vickers Engineering, stated “Automation has allowed us to compete on a global basis. It has absolutely created jobs in southwest Michigan. Had it not been for automation, we would not have beat our Japanese competitor; we would not have beat our Chinese competitor; we would not have beat our Mexican competitor. It’s a fact.” To be continued…