A new wave of manufacturing innovation calls for a new wave of ideas, and quite possibly, a new wave of talent. According to a
report by the Committee on the Future Economy, smart manufacturing could help the manufacturing sector in Singapore maintain its share of about 20% of the country's economy in the future.
As smart manufacturing continues to be a game changer for Singapore, SMEs should look at how they can fill this talent gap. Traditionally, the manufacturing sector is thought to be rather dull, old-school and a thing of the past. Some have even described manufacturing jobs to be ‘blue collar jobs’.
Growing up, our children have been taught to do well in school and get good grades to become doctors and lawyers — hardly anything to do with the manufacturing industry. It’s no wonder that Singapore is facing a shortage of talent that can facilitate companies' transformation to smart manufacturing.
At iPlast 4.0, we have been on a journey to mould the future of manufacturing. This is done through an Education Revolution of enabling development and adoption before we can enable Industry 4.0. To start from the ground up, we first have to tackle the challenge of changing the mindset of youths, an integral step before discussing technical and vocational training.