Building a Skills Bridge to Industry 4.0

The technology revolution is radically transforming every aspect of our lives with enormous social and economic benefits. I’m often asked whether this revolution will leave behind certain workers.

I recently participated in a panel discussion on Industry 4.0 at the IBM Think 2018 conference. We talked a lot about the disruption we’re seeing across industries, from high-tech to manufacturing to financial services.

It’s true that many jobs are being transformed by Industry 4.0, shifting millions of workers into roles that require new skills, particularly in the craft and trade areas.

Technology is changing how work gets done – but it can’t replace the pride, passion, creativity and judgment that humans bring to the job.

I’ve spent more than 30 years in technology industries and personally witnessed the third and now the fourth industrial revolutions. What’s different about Industry 4.0 is the pace of change – it’s exponential rather than linear.

To succeed in this environment – to be the disrupter rather than the one being disrupted – it’s critical to foster a culture that embraces change, including the changing skills our workforce needs to succeed in the new digital economy.

That’s why I’m so focused on workforce development.

Foster a culture that promotes collaboration and continuous learning

The role of the elevator mechanic at Otis is an example of how the industrial trades are becoming more advanced and increasingly digital.

Our elevators today are smarter and connected – rich with data from our controllers and sensors. We’re connecting our network of over 2 million elevators and escalators, collecting this equipment data in real time and tying the information to smartphone apps used by our 33,000 mechanics in the field.

This new digital ecosystem will help us identify potential issues before they occur, streamline repairs and minimize service disruptions to better serve our customers. This data will also form the IoT backbone that connects our customer, our passengers, our mechanics and others in new ways through new business models.

We recognized that the success of our service transformation would require a shift in how our mechanics approached their jobs, which meant training them in the use of the new technology – and getting them to accept and rapidly adopt it.

Our approach involved change management networks and the creation of online communities like Yammer for learning and collaboration.

We also created a Champion Network to support the growth of our field mechanics’ skill sets. To date we have more than 1,000 Champions who are helping to lead the deployment and adoption of our new mobile service applications.

As service ambassadors, our Champions share information and resources to educate colleagues and field users. At the same time, we integrate feedback from the field into app enhancements. This engagement helps us train teams on the tools – and ensure adoption over the short and long term.

It’s not just our service colleagues who are gaining new digital skills. Otis colleagues across many functions are enhancing their digital acumen in design methodology at the UTC Digital Accelerator, the digital incubator for United Technologies, our corporate parent. We’re developing curriculum and supporting certificate programs aimed at strengthening skills in new ways of working and developing products: user-centric design, Agile, Minimally Viable Product (MVP) and rapid prototyping, among other areas.

Apprenticeship programs and other educational models

Many industries face similar challenges in bridging the skills gap. We need to raise the knowledge base and core digital skills of all students and future employees as they go from K through 12 and on to trade schools, community colleges or universities. The public and private sectors can work together to build training and education systems that are highly responsive to industry trends and employment skill needs. I’ve written before about the importance of reskilling: A good example is Germany’s proven apprenticeship model that allows students to earn a living while they learn a vocation in a particular company. At Otis, we have established similar programs in Europe, Middle East and Africa and partnered with industry groups, unions and technical schools throughout the world to create innovative programs to train our next generation of mechanics. In China, the Otis Technical Academy is collaborating with five leading technical schools and a growing network of other technical schools across the country to develop our professional service mechanics and provide hands-on training for new mechanics. In the United States and Canada, Otis and other industry employers partnered with the International Union of Elevator Constructors to establish the National Elevator Industry Education Program, a certified apprenticeship program to provide skills required of our elevator field technicians. United Technologies today invests in more than 30 workforce training programs in the U.S., including apprenticeships, community college and high school partnerships, and digital certificate programs. It offers an industry-leading company-paid higher education program globally. UTC also sponsors robotics competitions around the world to encourage STEM interest among school-aged young people. These are great examples of what we’re doing now, but there is more to be done. In the area of external partnerships, we all have great opportunities for the future. I believe that new partnerships will continue to emerge with different, non-traditional participants and digital initiatives. We look forward to engaging in partnership opportunities that benefit all communities.

Seek diverse experience to maximize knowledge transfer

Digital skills are not exclusive to digital natives – and hiring younger workers is not a comprehensive solution to the skills gap. To nurture an environment of learning, we need to take advantage of our diverse strengths and make knowledge sharing a priority. Our more experienced colleagues can pass on their years of institutional knowledge and deep domain expertise to the next generation of mechanics. At the same time, they can benefit from the digital problem-solving skills and tools of their younger colleagues. Collaboration is the key and it works both ways!

Embracing change

I see a bright future for skilled trade workers in this technology revolution – although I understand the sense of apprehension about the changes brought by Industry 4.0. Change is inherently positive but it poses challenges for people in any organization. Continuous learning is foundational in an enterprise to facilitate these changes. So a leader needs to focus on people and change management to successfully guide colleagues in the organization from the past to the future. In our digital economy, that includes building a bridge over the skills gap that people can confidently cross.