How 5G can help solve the industry-wide skills shortage

5G and the Connected Worker

One way in which 5G helps businesses overcome the skills shortage is through connecting workers, throughout the production system lifecycle; all the way from the plant floor to the executive boardroom. With 5G, manufacturers can take advantage of fast, reliable, and flexible communications that make work and making decisions, easier and more efficient, through forming connections throughout all parts of a facility.

This could be through one of the many mobile devices – such as iPads or other intuitive technologies – that modern workers may be using while on the factory floor. However, the key benefit of 5G in this instance is that it ensures an entire workforce can access, understand, and utilize key data that is available in real time.

5G therefore allows workers to make decisions faster with more informed insights which leads to more efficient operations. This creates enhanced collaborative opportunities for workers, both those on the factory floor, as well as those operating in a remote or different geographic location, to share insights and communicate without any drop in connection.

5G enables factories to integrate these devices and uncover previously unexplored opportunities for productivity, without opening the door to new cyber risks. It enables greater levels of data security and network control making systems more resilient and fortified against cybercriminals, who regularly target manufacturing operations, minimizing the likelihood of a data breach occurring.

By helping workers to become safer, more connected, and more collaborative, a lot of the efficiencies lost through the skills shortage can be regained by using 5G, IIoT and real-time communications. 

Upskilling and Training

Manufacturing workers – like any employees – want to be able to use the latest software capabilities, such as AI, AR, VR and digital twins, in their everyday jobs. Those entering the workforce for the first time – including new graduates - want access to these technologies, but they also want the opportunity to learn the requisite skills to operate them effectively.

5G helps ensure that all the information these employees need, as well as all the key resources, are immediately accessible, whether they are in an office, working remotely, or located on the plant floor.

This means that manufacturers can use 5G and the connectivity benefits it offers to better train existing and new workers alike. This approach to upskilling and training helps develop skill sets that can fill gaps in a workforce as well as encourage internal development rather than relying on outside or external workers to plug talent or experience holes.

Remote Controls

5G helps to remove geographical borders and form a more connected enterprise that can tap into talent on both a local and global basis. It means that operators can interact with machines from any location safely, securely and in real time. This ensures immediate access to talent wherever it may be located with the assurance that there will be no adverse impacts due to the reliability and security of the connections in place.

This could be anything from conducting remote maintenance on a machine, adapting operations to fulfil a new demand or updating systems, all without needing to have someone physically on the factory floor doing the job. It also means that workers can learn new skills or hone existing ones anywhere in the world, reducing the reliance on being in a specific place and at a specific time to develop key skills and experience.

When everything comes together, 5G helps manufacturers create a more collaborative workforce. One that emphasizes training and upskilling while allowing for remote operations to take place. 5G can therefore help to mitigate the impacts of the skill shortage and form a workforce able to cooperate to solve manufacturing problems, as and when they emerge.