Automation is here. Is the workforce ready?Friday 19 Jun 2026
You lock up your warehouse at night, switch off the lights and press play on an autonomous drone. By morning, it has flown the aisles, scanned barcodes, completed stocktakes and delivered real-time inventory data before the first staff member arrives. For some manufacturers, that future isn’t coming - it’s already here. Having recently attended the MAKE NZ industry conference at the engineering and manufacturing show EMEX - alongside spending the past few months visiting manufacturing sites across New Zealand - I’ve had a front-row seat to how quickly technology is evolving. From collaborative robots (co-bots) on factory floors to increasingly sophisticated AI and automated systems in warehousing and distribution, one message came through consistently: the biggest shift isn’t machines replacing people. It’s that the people alongside those machines now need different skills. There is still a persistent narrative that technology equals job losses. But across manufacturing floors, warehouses and engineering workshops, the reality looks different. Across many manufacturing environments, technology is changing jobs faster than it is removing them. Take robotic welding. A robot may handle repetitive work, but it still needs someone who understands welding quality, tolerances, and outcomes. Visit a distribution centre, and you’ll see technology moving stock, but humans still analysing outputs, monitoring systems and solving problems when things go wrong. Are the robots ready to fly solo? Recently, I visited a manufacturer trialling a machine designed to automatically pick up boxes, stack pallets and shrink-wrap them. Impressive? Absolutely. Faster than the person standing next to it? Not even close. The lesson is simple: technology still needs people. Technology is not a procurement decision - it’s a workforce project The strongest manufacturing investments happen when conversations about technology and workforce capability start early. If new technology, robotics or AI-enabled systems are on your roadmap, ask now: who will operate it? Who will maintain it? Who will monitor outputs and manage exceptions? What new skills will supervisors need? This is where workforce planning becomes more valuable than talking about training alone. Bringing workforce partners into technology planning conversations before equipment arrives creates opportunities to build capability early - whether that is through structured on-the-job learning, targeted microcredentials or broader workforce development. When done well, technology and workforce investment should happen side by side. Adaptability is becoming manufacturing’s newest superpower Manufacturing has always evolved. What is changing is the speed. Export customers increasingly expect more data, more traceability and greater visibility across supply chains. In some cases, modern production systems are becoming less of a competitive advantage and more of a requirement to stay in the game. That means the workforce needs to evolve too. One concept gaining attention is reverse mentoring, where younger workers support experienced teams with digital capability while learning operational expertise in return. We know skills are becoming more transferable too. The capabilities needed to oversee modern production systems, interpret data, troubleshoot systems, and lead teams are no longer confined to a single sector. They move across manufacturing, engineering, logistics and beyond. More >> Source & image credit: Competenz | ||
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