Additive Manufacturing’s Got Talent, But Let’s Do a Better Job Developing It!
It was a bold magazine cover in October 2012 that got my gears spinning.
Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot, looked at me from the cover of WIRED with his slick silver-black hair, horn-rimmed glasses, and a smirk that exuded confidence. In his hands, the Replicator 3D printer; around him, the headline: “This Machine Will Change the World.”
While hyperbole, the cover signaled 3D printing had arrived for the masses. It was a promise that this transformational technology was now at anyone’s disposal. “Print amazing objects at home!” the cover read.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bre/8574330251
For me, a trained mechanical engineer who had left manufacturing years ago to pursue a career in the software industry, the promise of 3D printing was less about making gadgets in my garage. This “box” Bre was holding represented something more. It was a metaphor for the promise that 3D printing would fundamentally change how we design and make things. It reminds me of how ubiquitous software has become in the way we scale and transform businesses. Similarly, 3D printing has made the art of designing and making products approachable and scalable, and could potentially democratize manufacturing on a scale we have never seen before.
Fast forward seven years, and it’s clear 3D printing hasn’t quite changed the world, yet. Some argue it hasn’t changed manufacturing all that much. While manufacturers are increasingly embracing 3D printing, they haven’t fully implemented the technology into their workflow.
Less than 10% of companies today possess robust capabilities to quickly implement new manufacturing strategies, according to McKinsey & Company. Many would like to introduce new technologies like additive manufacturing (AM), but barriers are plenty. The one I’m most concerned with is talent.
At The Lanterman Group (TLG), we have conducted extensive research with market leaders in diverse industries including oil and gas, aerospace, automotive, nuclear energy, and medicine. These leaders identify the lack of a skilled AM workforce as one of the major challenges in scaling implementation.
Common questions I get from professionals interested in a career in AM include “Where do I start my career?” and “How can I build the competencies employers care about?” Think about it. Where do manufacturers find 3D printing experts? Where do high school graduates go to pursue a career in additive manufacturing? There isn’t a clear career path.
There are options, sure. Students can pursue a traditional four-year degree in the engineering sciences, get a technical degree at a community college, try to land an apprenticeship, or sign up for day- or week-long courses. None, however, offer a holistic curriculum with advanced training and hands-on learning opportunities that teach competencies necessary to land a job.
TLG analyzed over 100 active AM-related training programs. We found that few move past introductory-level, theoretical knowledge. Nor do they cover multiple disciplines such as engineering, design, material science, and manufacturing. In short, most AM training is fragmented and lacks consistency, technical depth, or a pathway to technical achievement.
So what’s the alternative?
To me, it’s evident we need to change how we think about manufacturing careers and innovate the way we develop talent for it.
When I grew up, manufacturing was perceived as dirty. It was blue-collar with the connotation that you didn’t exactly need a traditional college education to get started. That’s not the case anymore, though here in the Midwest we’re still being confronted with the outdated Rust Belt cliché.
On the flip side, what drew me to software was the idea that it’s ripe with innovation, the idea that applications and solutions could be created from nothing. When I first entered the industry it still felt very much like the brave new world everyone was flocking to. It was, and you could build great careers in it.
The same thing is happening with manufacturing, not just because of 3D printing, but big data, augmented reality, smart sensors and the Internet of Things. As manufacturing technology is quickly advancing across multiple fronts, the skills required to land jobs and build successful careers are more diverse than ever. The problem is that people don’t view it that way. Parents are still cautious when advising their kids who seek to start a career in manufacturing, even though the industry offers lucrative and fulfilling careers.
Additive manufacturing has an unemployment rate of nearly zero and is growing at a higher rate than the number of new professionals entering the field with specific AM training, according to Alexander Daniels Global. Hiring forecasts predict an increase in demand for AM professionals with application engineering and material science experience. Half of all entry-level jobs require prior AM experience, and a war for talent – much like what the software industry has experienced – is underway.
Unfortunately, the way we develop that talent hasn’t caught up with that war, yet.
The software industry has done a much better job than additive manufacturing. It offers multiple on-ramps to successful careers. Many go to college to pursue their computer science degrees, but that’s just one path. Coding bootcamps have become incredibly popular over the past seven years, for example. About 100 of them can be found around the U.S., with curriculum ranging from 8 to 36 weeks and an average tuition of $11,874. The key here is they provide intensive, accelerated learning with hands-on projects where students develop their own software programs, web apps and other digital tools.
In 2017, code schools graduated 22,000 students, about half as many as all accredited colleges and universities combined; and a recent Gallup poll found that only about half of U.S. adults (51%) now consider a college education to be "very important." That’s down from 70% in 2013. The most significant drop – 33 percentage points – was among adults aged 18 to 29. Combine that with an increasing demand for young additive manufacturing talent, and it becomes clear we need to develop new ways of training tomorrow’s workforce.
TLG has provided additive manufacturing training to more than 400 current and future workers over the past four years. We have created several courses targeted at executives, managers and technical personnel with appropriate levels of AM competency development. And we’re just getting started.
We’re focused on developing intensive and accelerated additive manufacturing training that teaches transferable skills and outlines a clear career path. We believe we need to educate additive manufacturing technicians and engineers who are fluent in AM languages like materials and design. That’s what will drive top talent to additive manufacturing.
What drove me to a career in additive was that WIRED cover back in 2012. I left Oracle to join rp+m, a company that provided rapid prototyping, short-run production, consulting and other additive manufacturing services, in 2013. It was an exciting time. Manufacturers understood the value of the technology and were eager to work with us.
But during that time and in my work with TLG I have also come face-to-face with the challenges manufacturers face in implementing 3D printing technologies. No challenge is greater than effectively training tomorrow’s AM workforce. Only if we can get that component right, will WIRED’s bold claim eventually ring true.