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chanical complexity, remains With cobots working on man- dirty, and dangerous tasks. Co-
a human industry in many ual tasks, manufacturing hir- bots have taken the stage and
ways. Humans are present in ing managers are now looking are transforming operations
every aspect of manufacturing, for soft skills in employees such worldwide. This drives the im-
creation, marketing, selling, as creativity, cognitive skills, and portance of having a skilled
coordinating, and everything social skills. Nonetheless, this workforce with the right tech-
in between. As a result, one does not imply that companies nical training. Reskilling and
can agree that soft skills such as replace their existing employees training play a very pivotal
critical thinking, interpersonal with machines. Unlike tradition- role not only in the growth of
relationship building, ability al industrial robots that require employees, but also in increas-
to manage others, persuasion, professional engineers to oper- ing an organization’s efficiency
and empathy will become in- ate, cobots are easily program- and productivity.
creasingly important in the mable. Even employees with no Skill up-gradation is important
coming years. Many believe robotic background are capable in the current global scenar-
that manufacturers who learn of handling a cobot. io, especially since the advent
to use digital tools to enhance of Industry 4.0 with automa-
workers’ soft skills will make Skilling for efficiency and tion, machine learning, and
the most progress. productivity different digital processes
With emerging technologies, of manufacturing.
more and more machines (such as Amplifying workers’ soft skills
cobots) are being deployed in the gives companies a competitive
Manufacturing industry, which edge in the market. Moreover,
requires skilled workers for their to ensure all employees are keep-
operation. The focus has shifted ing pace with the advances, in-
from basic survival skills to skills dustry leaders need to quickly
like resilience, critical thinking, embark on retraining and re-
and quick decision-making in skilling initiatives. For instance,
the workforce. These skills can Hyundae Induction Hardening
be given to employees through Heat Treatment (HIHHT) installed
training and re-training, as well two UR10 cobots in its production
as skilling and reskilling. Train- line. This resulted in a decrease
ing and skilling of employees are in the failure rate from 0.03
Sougandh KM among the most pressing priori- percent to 0.01 percent and an
Country Manager of India ties to generate higher efficiency increase in production efficien-
Universal Robots
and productivity. cy by 31 percent. Additionally,
For centuries, the Manufactur- As robotics education becomes automating the production pro-
ing industry has been heavily more prevalent, there is a greater cesses allows HIHHT to hire two
dependent on manual labor. need for human-machine collab- more employees.
Basic skill requirements include oration. Universal Robots intro-
conducting physical tasks like duces the UR Academy, where
weight lifting and carrying learners, employees, manufac- Modernization in Skilling
items from one place to anoth- turers, and career seekers can Currently, up to 29 percent of
er. However, as automation learn basic robotic skills through all current tasks are performed
penetrates many aspects of the free online training modules, by machines, robots, Artificial
Manufacturing industry, there webinars, and video tutorials. Intelligence (AI), and algorithms.
will be significant shifts in the Moreover, technical skills need This percentage is going up and
skill profiles of manufacturing to be introduced by the manu- is expected to cross 42 percent
by 2022, and exponentially grow
jobs. The manual and danger- facturers to keep pace with the faster to 52 percent by 2025. The
ous tasks that were once com- changing times. new occupations that emerge
pleted by human labor are now will be responsible for creating a
conducted by collaborative ro- Soft skills for a competitive balance between human work
bots, or cobots. Cobots relieve edge and machine work. The rising
demand for cognitive and social
human workers from heavy The exponential growth in tech- skills will set the premise for
weightlifting and rigorous re- nology has changed the face future employability.
petitive tasks, so they can focus of the world. Cobots are reliev- Source: India Skills Report 2022
on higher-value tasks. ing human workers from dull,

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