Robot ‘cool’ factor vital to lure talent
"The perception is that working in a factory is for people too dumb to go to university." Dieter Adam, Manufacturing and Exporters Association
Manufacturers say students’ misconceptions of the industry are contributing to its burgeoning talent shortage.
Lock maker Assa Abloy manufacturing and engineering manager Marc Simkin said young New Zealanders did not see manufacturing as a viable career option.
But technology, robotics and automation made it an exciting industry to work in right now, Simkin said.
Assa Abloy has bought two robots in the past year to increase production speed and safety. But finding recruits for die-casting and powder coating remained a struggle, Simkin said.
Assa Abloy operations graduate Sam Bunce said young people had the wrong perception of the manufacturing industry. ‘‘People think that manufacturing is just banging a hammer all day,’’ he said.
Bunce stumbled across a job opportunity at Assa Abloy before he graduated with a engineering degree from Auckland University two years ago.
Manufacturing had not been on his radar because it was not mentioned as an industry to work in when he was at high school or university. It was sheer luck that he stumbled upon the job in an industry he loves working in, he said.
He recommended manufacturing to anyone who enjoyed a fast-moving, hands-on, social environment. The money was good too, he said.
Robotics eliminated mundane tasks on the factory floor and boosted management opportunities, Bunce said.
New Zealand Manufacturing and Exporters Association chief executive Dieter Adam said addressing the talent shortage was top of his priorities.
There was no use buying fancy machinery if manufacturers did not have staff to operate it in the future, he said.
New Zealand needed to train its own manufacturers and not rely on international recruits.
He said he had been visiting schools in a desperate effort to promote manufacturing as a career path, but it was hard to fight against the universities’ sell.
‘‘The perception is that working in a factory is for people too dumb to go to university.’’
The children he spoke to were surprised that there was money to be made and fun to be had in a factory, Adam said.
‘‘Kids have not got the option of a manufacturing job put in front of them and that is unfortunate, because it is a satisfying career for people who like to work with their hands.’’
Simkin said he wanted manufacturing companies and the Government to start showing support for the industry.
‘‘To make it attractive there has to be tertiary courses provided and a public relations exercise showing that robotics and associated technology is not that difficult to understand.’’
He said students’ stereotype of manufacturing had to change. To do so, universities should set up collaborative robot laboratories and teaching centres, he said. ‘‘Manufacturing is cool.’’