Building the Robotics Workforce: What Employers Can Learn From the U.S. Army

0:00 The line between engineers and skilled trade workers is completely blurred out. The growing issue is we have over 1.9 million open positions by 2033 that we have to fill. Only 55 skilled workers are produced for every 100 that is needed. The Army picked a third role. This is not an operator, this is not an engineer, this is an actually brand new career in the US Army.

0:28 There's also a completion gap, 50% for traditional training compared with more than 90% for high-quality apprenticeships. Quite frankly, if I was a business person, I would actually try and steal this setup. Can you train an engineer on new skills? Or vice versa. Could you take one of your operators and upskill them?

0:47 That's where the magic could actually happen. Welcome to the business of automation, the show that cuts through the hype and tells you what's exactly happening in the world of robotics, automation, and physical AI. I'm Aaron Prather, Director of Market Intelligence here at A3, the Association for Advancing Automation.

1:02 And in our show, we go beyond the headlines and actually separate the signal from the noise. So let's go. Robot safety isn't paperwork you fill out at the end of an automation project. It's part of design, integration, and operating the system from the beginning. For more than 35 years, the A3 International Robot Safety Conference has brought together the people developing robot safety practices with the people applying them in the real world.

1:28 This year's conference is November 3rd through the 5th. And for full disclosure, IRSC is an A3 event, and A3 is who I work for. See you in Detroit. This week on the business of automation, the U.S. Army just graduated the first class of a brand new job, 19 weeks, 10 warrant officers, and a job code that did not exist before.

1:52 390A Robotics Technician Integrator. Emory University and Georgia Tech have built a five-year dual degree, combining an MDE with a master's in robotics. They plan to enroll just four to six students a year, though. And in Detroit, executives from Ford, BlackRock, Verizon, Carhartt, and Train gathered to talk about the skilled trades shortage.

2:13 One number stood out. Training programs are producing roughly 55 skilled workers for every 100 needed. Here's what ties all these stories together. Everyone is seeing that we actually need more training for folks to enter robotics and automation. We have the U.S. Army creating a new type of class for their warriors.

2:31 We have Emory and Georgia Tech creating a new credential for the medical field. And we have executives actually saying that there is a problem out there. But the growing issue is we have over 1.9 million open positions by 2033 that we have to fill. So there's a lot to talk about. So let's get into it.

2:49 We're going to start with one of the fastest moving organizations in the world in automation. And that's pretty hard to believe when it's coming from the federal government. In early October, the Army's Special Forces graduated the first class of a brand new military occupation specialty. 390A, Robotics Technician Integrator, 10 Warrant Officers.

3:10 For anyone outside the military, an MOS, military occupation specialty is the Army's job code. Creating one is much bigger than launching a training course. It means the Army has decided this is a career. The coursework includes artificial intelligence, coding, unmanned ground vehicles, fixed wing drones, quadcaptors, sensors, electrical warfare systems, and autonomous mesh networking.

3:35 The job description here is very important because this is just not your typical operator. These guys are being trained to do numerous things on numerous pieces of equipment. As one of the graduates said, robotics is no longer a niche capability. It is becoming a core requirement. Now, what companies should take away from here is the Army picked a third role.

3:57 This is not an operator. This is not an engineer. This is an actually brand new career in the US Army. And this is something that could be applied to your business. Look at your setups right now. Do you need an engineer actually doing the job or an operator? Or do you need to create a third role? For the market intelligence desk, four things.

4:19 This is only 10 graduates, so this is a very small beginning. Number two, we do not know how the U.S. Army is going to scale this beyond the 10 graduates. Number three, the Army was very specific in starting this in the special operations division. So already highly skilled people were the first ones out of the gate.

4:40 But four, they're definitely going to expand this into numerous different areas of the U.S. Army and other military branches across the United States. So this scale tells us that this is the beginning point right now with numerous opportunities to scale, not only just in the special forces, but in different areas as well.

5:00 That could be applied to your company as well. Now, here's my verdict. I think this is probably one of the best training programs of this year that I've seen so far because it's so set in what its mission is and how it's got its graduates to their final graduation stop. And quite frankly, if I was a business person looking at this, I would actually try and steal this setup because it actually addresses where you can fill that gap between the operator role and the engineering role.

5:27 Now the issue is how do you build this training program within your organization like the U.S. Army did? I would actually look at it more and come up with your own. In our second story, we move from a 19-week course to a five-year course. Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia Tech have launched a dual degree program combining a doctor of medicine with a master's of science in robotics.

5:51 Five years, but only four to six students per year will be allowed into the program. Students spend the first year studying robotics at Georgia Tech, mechanics, controls, perception, AI, and human-robot interaction. They then complete the four-year medical program at Emory while finishing the remaining robotics requirements and a capstone project.

6:12 The first cohort is scheduled to start in fall of 2027. One of the program's professors described the goal as producing physicians who can identify important clinical problems while also having enough engineering knowledge to help build the solutions by stating we are not simply adding a technical degree onto a medical degree.

6:33 We are preparing a new kind of physician leader for healthcare technology. Now, this sounds pretty familiar because the Army just tried to do the same thing by bridging that gap between engineering and the operator. Here, Emory and Georgia Tech are trying to bridge between medicine and robotics. But there's a little bit of a concern here.

6:53 First of all, four to six students a year, and by my math, the first class won't be graduating until 2032. There could be numerous different changes happening just in surgical robots alone by then. From the market intelligence desk, four things. First thing, this is not going to solve any short-term issues that we have out there.

7:15 This is a five-year program, folks. Number two, it looks like this program is trying to develop leaders, not maybe technical folks. So are we developing folks that are going to lead hospital teams or actually maybe build new companies in the space? Number three, this is going to be very interesting one because here you have a person that needs to qualify for both a robotics program and a medical school.

7:40 The medical school could actually be harder than getting into the robotics program. So four to six students might actually be that's only how many folks are out there that can do this. Number four, we're still waiting on details from both schools of what the funding is, how much it's going to cost, how long they really expect it to take.

8:00 Is it really going to be five years? So we'll just have to watch this space. Here's my verdict. This is a great program and it is a great idea. It is just going to be very slow to adopt. There is no way we can wait till 2032 for some of these guys to come to the marketplace because there's so much work to be done.

8:20 So it's great. It is something that is definitely needed. Hats off to Emory and Georgia Tech for identifying a gap in the industry and addressing it. But folks, this is going to take a while. Our third story for today puts the first two in context. They give us some actual numbers, and folks, it's not good.

8:39 In late September in Detroit, Ford hosted an event called Accelerate the Essential Economy. Executives from companies including Ford, BlackRock, Verizon, Carhartt, and Train, gathered to talk about skilled trades and workforce development. Collectively, companies represented at the event have committed more than one billion in skilled trades training.

9:00 Ford has announced $5 million in additional funding to modernize automotive technician programs in two Detroit schools with plans to expand the effort nationally. Then came the numbers that caught my attention. The biggest number that stood out was only 55 skilled workers are produced for every 100 that is needed.

9:21 There's also a completion gap, about 50% for traditional training, compared with more than 90% for high-quality apprenticeships. Now compare this with the bigger workforce gap. One study estimated that U.S. manufacturing could need 3.8 million new workers by 2033. Without action, about 1.9 million jobs could go unfilled.

9:45 Ford CEO Jim Farley described the shift another way. The line between engineers and skilled trade workers is completely blurred out. Now let's compare this story to the other two because they're all sort of telling the same thing. We have a lot of jobs to fill and we don't have as many training programs.

10:05 We're building the training programs and they're going to show great success, but they're so far behind. It's how do we catch up? And this brings up another question. Do we build more training programs and actually teach the students ourselves how to do these jobs? Or do we rely on the student to go get the skills themselves?

10:24 Now, before we continue, full disclosure on my part. A3, my employer, actually works on training and workforce development programs. So we actually do some of the training that we've been talking about. So I'm not trying to sell you on anything that A3 is selling, but I did want to make you aware of that.

10:41 From the market intelligence desk, three things. First, this 55 to 100 ratio that was quoted came only out of that room. We have no independent confirmation that that number is real or accurate, but it does give us some kind of starting point to work from. Number two, there is something very serious in these numbers of 50% and 90%.

11:03 If only 50% of the students in traditional training programs are finishing it, what's going on there versus 90% in the apprenticeship programs? That tells us that there might need to be another investment change and more being done on the apprentice side. Number three, speaking of where are we going to get this money, a billion dollars is a lot.

11:25 But when you look at how big the gap is across the United States and elsewhere, $1 billion is a great starting point, but that money could be spent very quickly before we even reach goal one. Here's my verdict, and it is a simple one. If we're going to spend a billion dollars on training and we have 50% of graduates coming out of traditional programs and 90% only coming out of apprenticeships, then I know where I want to invest my money.

11:50 It's on the 90% side. So let's wrap this up. First of all, these are great programs that are being started. Hats off to the U.S. Army for identifying a problem and coming up with a solution. Emory and Georgia Tech, same thing. The issue is only 10 warrant officers graduating the first class and for the six students graduating five years in the future.

12:13 Great work, but we're going to have to have a lot more done. And I think that's where the folks in Detroit brought this sort of home. When they say only 55 people are graduating to fill up to a hundred different roles, we have a lot more work to do. So how would you start this? Here's my suggestions.

12:32 First, identify the role that you're going to fill. Number two, come up with what are the skill sets that that person needs that are so unique that you can't actually do what number three is. Develop a hybrid system. Can you train an engineer on new skills to fill this third role that you're going to create?

12:54 Or vice versa. Could you take one of your operators and upskill them with additional training to fill this third role? That's where the magic could actually happen. That's our show this week, but the show is just the beginning. Check out our Substack. We have every one of these stories over there with even more details and information.

13:11 And especially if you're interested in any of these programs, we have the links over there for that. And if you subscribe to the Substack, it's free. And every Friday, our show will be dropped automatically into your in basket. I'm Aaron Prathard, Director of Market Intelligence here at A3, the Association for Advancing Automation.

13:28 This has been the Business of Automation. I'll see you next week.