Although automation is the megatrend in industry, it has not yet caught on in the craft business world, despite many companies facing a shortage of skilled workers or a lack of trainees. Despite the low take-up rate so far, robotics offers a great opportunity for craft businesses.
Lack of skilled labour is an issue in many countries around the globe. Here are just a few examples showing the severity of the situation: A shortage of skilled workers and a lack of trainees. Figures from the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks, ZDH) make it clear how difficult the situation is: in 2011, there were around 420,000 apprentices in Germany, but by 2022 that had dropped to just under 364,000. Like Germany, many other countries in the European Union (EU) are also suffering from a major lack of skilled workers in various craft, industrial and manufacturing sectors. In fact, statistics from the EU say three quarters of all companies across the Union have a problem attracting workers with the requisite skills.
The UK has been particularly hard hit, partly as a result of leaving the EU, which means it has a shortfall of millions of skilled workers. Moreover, a UK government report noted that businesses say 80 per cent of small firms have difficulties attracting recruits with the suitable skills for jobs. Compounding the challenge for UK businesses is that the number of people starting apprenticeships in engineering and manufacturing has been dropping for some time: in 2016-2017 it was 28,890, which dropped to 18,680 in 2019-2020, and again to 13,400 in 2021-2022.
However, there is one innovative way to make some skilled jobs more attractive and subsequently boost the number of people entering craft enterprises – and that is the introduction of robots, because robots make a business more attractive.
Automation as a job magnet
Given a choice, nowadays many young people prefer to work in a large company rather than at a small metalworking shop, where they might have to cut metal profiles or stand at a lathe all day. But if there’s a robot operating a lathe in the shop, employees can advertise a job to a prospective employee as work involving controlling a robot. This changes the perspective completely, for the simple reason that new technologies enormously increase an employer’s attractiveness, including to skilled workers. The role of robots can be seen as to take on the 4 Ds of dull, dirty, dangerous and difficult, the work that no one wants to do, leaving time for humans to do more interesting tasks.
Consistent quality
The dearth of essential skilled workers means robots are taking on work in a variety of industries. Clearly, there are still good welders plying their trade, for example, but they are becoming fewer and fewer as people who leave the industry are not replaced. One of the reasons is that the work of doing weld after weld, in full gear and wearing a mask, is demanding for a human. But this isn’t the case for a robot, who welds with consistent quality and more precisely, including in a range of demanding environments, than any human can ever do.
The question is: why aren’t more craft businesses using robots? The reasons are multifold, such as owners just don’t have the topic of robots on their radar or prefer to stick to what they know. It can also be a generational issue, though there are signs that young managers are more interested in technical innovations, including robots.
As robots become more common in various businesses, it in turn makes increasing numbers of craft businesses more open to taking the first step toward automation. While this initial interest is a positive sign, it’s not straight forward that businesses follow up and purchase a robot. Some business quickly become unsettled by other factors, such as feasibility and financing, at which point they need expert help and advice.
Where is the journey going?
It seems clear that some kind of rethink needs to take place in the skilled trades, and that sooner or later the lack of skilled workers will threaten the viability of businesses. Spreading the word so that business owners understand that a number of different trades could benefit from robotics is important. Moreover, businesses need to know that they can choose from ready-made robotic cells that can be quickly integrated into operations, whether for welding, screwing, milling, deburring, sawing, gluing, or painting.
And it’s not just in traditional heavier industrial trades in which robots have potential. Small food businesses, for example, such as bakeries or butchers, could have just as much automation potential as carpenters, joiners, window makers or metalworkers. As soon as products are manufactured within a company, it opens up the potential for the automation of individual production steps – whether stair railings, cabinets, or even baked goods.
It seems, that the direction of travel is clear, and it’s towards more automation and more robots. This potential for greater automation, added to the increasing interest investing in robots, might go some way to addressing the major skill shortages many craft businesses are facing.
