Preparing the workforce for 2030 : skills and education for robotics & autonomous systems

Across the world, and here in the UK, industry and commerce are undergoing a 4th industrial revolution (4IR) that will bring about a step-change in UK productivity whilst also transforming how people interact with, and work alongside, digital systems and smart machines. At the heart of this transformation are RAS technologies.

These are exciting times, however, the UK is faced with significant challenges. Amongst the most important are the need to reskill the current workforce to work safely and effectively alongside robots, to train managers to understand and effectively deploy automation, and to ensure that, across all levels of education, people from diverse backgrounds have the skills they need to be part of the 2030 workforce. In this white paper we summarise these opportunities and challenges, identify promising recent initiatives in skills training, both in the UK and across the world, and identify future interventions in UK RAS education that are both affordable and scaleable, and that could help the UK maintain its place as a leading technological economy.