Deloitte Study Says AI Could Speed Manufacturing Skills Training

Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute said in a press release that AI could help manufacturers train technicians and expand the pool of qualified applicants. Their study identifies nearly 2 million technicians in adjacent industries whose skills may transfer to manufacturing.

The analysis estimates that employment for manufacturing technicians could grow six times faster than employment in manufacturing production roles from 2025 to 2030. Employers may need to fill 2.3 million technician openings across manufacturing and adjacent industries during that period, while nearly 500,000 open manufacturing technician roles face a skills gap.

The study says manufacturers could use AI to digitize technical knowledge, give workers guidance during training, and reduce time spent searching for information. These tools could support workers moving from adjacent fields and allow experienced technicians to focus on higher value tasks.