From manufacturing to farming produce, robotics technology is rapidly advancing in every direction. By now, there are few fields that are not already accustomed to at least some form of automation in the workplace. Even consumers are adjusting to automation. We have real-time tracking and inventory of items on store shelves. Customers are using self-checkout to conclude sales. Now more than ever, it is imperative that humans in the workforce prepare to work alongside these innovations.
The Greater Boston Area is no exception to this. As our local economy continues to recover, and manufacturing and production continues to grow, the numbers of jobs created are not comparable to previous events. In fact, many of the positions reserved for unskilled labor in the past will instead be destined to automation. According to Tech Crunch, "Robotics have already helped reduce reliance on labor overseas for manufacturers in automotive, electrical and electronics industries". There is no reason to expect that trend will be any different in the United States.
Although this is not a trend that favors the unskilled labor workforce, it does favor those in the fields of Information Technology, Engineering, Robotics, and IoT. It is increasingly imperative for the US workforce to focus on learning and employing skilled trades. Not only will unskilled labor positions not grow at rates we have seen in the past, but due to automation they are vanishing at rates never witnessed before.
The future is upon us, and workplace automation and robotics technologies are coming with it.