Workforce 4.0
WELCOME TO WORKFORCE 4.0
Workforce 4.0 is a weekly live show featuring Manufacturing Executives from all industries coming together to emphasize how companies are partnering with technology to give people more meaningful work. As a passion project created by Ann Wyatt, Workforce 4.0 highlights crucial topics such as the increasing talent gap, success stories of real people engaged with the latest manufacturing technology and how the manufacturing workforce can transition into these exciting new roles.
JOIN THE LIVE CONVERSATION
Stream Workforce 4.0 every Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. ET on all below platforms. Bring questions for upcoming guests, add your voice to the conversation and learn more about job openings from our featured companies.
FEATURED GUESTS
Aaron Prather R&D at FedEx
Jake Hall The Manufacturing Millennial
Meaghan Ziemba Host of Mavens of Manufacturing
Chris Kuntz VP of Marketing at Augmentir
Corey Adams Educational Program Manager at Universal Robots
Malachi Greb Owner of Elite Automation
Chris Luecke Host of Manufacturing Happy Hour
Ben Armstrong Executive Director of MIT’s Industrial Performance Center and Work of the Future initiative
E1: Is It Too Late For #WorkforceWednesday?
If you’ve seen the hashtag #workforcewednesday circulating your LinkedIn feed every Wednesday, you won’t want to miss Aaron Prather as he sits down with Ann Wyatt to discuss the current state of the manufacturing workforce. During the conversation, we’ll also discover the purpose behind the #workforcewednesday hashtag and how anyone can join in the popular conversation supporting the advocation for tomorrow’s workforce.
E2: The Robots Aren’t Coming. They’re Here.
If you’re a part of the manufacturing community on LinkedIn, you undoubtedly follow Jake Hall, the Manufacturing Millennial. Jake not only creates videos showcasing automation being deployed by manufacturing companies to create the products that you buy everyday, but he also openly advocates for the adoption of automation to give people more meaningful work. Join the conversation to learn more about how he is doing his part to change the narrative of the role that automation will play in the future of the manufacturing workforce and how companies are already successfully making that transition happen today.
E3: It Takes A Village To Raise A Workforce.
When it comes to women taking the manufacturing industry by storm, Meaghan Ziemba is certainly paving the way. Through her LinkedIn Live show, “Mavens of Manufacturing,” Meaghan sits down with women leaders of manufacturing from the “shop floor to the C Suite.” In this episode of Workforce 4.0, Meaghan explains why women have a critical role in growing the future workforce of the manufacturing industry and shares some of the unique challenges that face women when it comes to growing in this male dominated space.
E4: Workforce 4.0 Will Be Greater Than “A Master of One.”
Ever since meeting with a company called Augmentir for an online event last fall, Ann Wyatt has been all in on connected worker technology. On this episode of Workforce 4.0, join Ann as she talks directly with Augmentir’s VP of Marketing, Chris Kuntz, on why the future of work will not only be connected but empowered. Learn more about how manufacturing is transforming from an industry of specialists to generalists, how connected worker technology is giving manufacturing operations quick (and big) wins and what exactly we can do to preserve tribal knowledge.
E5: If We Build It, They Will Come.
When Universal Robots isn’t busy giving people more meaningful work with their variety of multi-use cobots, they are on a mission to provide education and training to the next generation of Workforce 4.0. In this week’s episode, Ann sits down with Corey Adams to discuss how UR not only believes in providing solutions to empower the manufacturing workforce, but also how they are heading up the charge in partnering with educational providers to strengthen local communities.
E6: The Case of The Missing Workforce.
There’s a lot of talk about the “Great Resignation” when it comes to the manufacturing workforce, but our guest this week on Workforce 4.0 certainly has some insight on how leadership matters. Join Ann as she sits down with the Owner of Elite Automation, Malachi Greb to learn more on his take of being a business owner during the Covid 19 pandemic and how a strong leadership culture matters. Learn more about the creation of Elite Automation and how Malachi has grown his company from a single person to over one dozen employees into over a dozen employees and how culture is the center of his companies growth- regardless of great resignation or not.
E7: So You Want To Be A Manufacturing Rockstar?
The future of work will require more opportunities for people to work remotely, even within the manufacturing environment. With the rise of remote work, we must be prepared and equipped to not only develop functional systems that our teams can rely on, but also to create more opportunities for our remote teams to interact and be human. When it comes to successfully creating both of those aspects for our future workforce, Chris Luecke is ahead of the game. Join us live this Wednesday at 12p ET as Ann Wyatt sits down with Chris to talk about how he is strengthening the manufacturing community through events, his day job and his popular podcast, “Manufacturing Happy Hour.”
E8: Wages + Skills = Workforce 4.0 Success.
While anyone in the manufacturing industry will tell you that there’s not a “secret sauce” to recruiting and retaining the next generation of talent, there are a couple of factors that really stand out to MIT Researcher, Ben Armstrong. On this final season 1 episode of Workforce 4.0, Ann sits down to talk to Ben about the numerous case studies that he’s conducted with mostly Small and Medium Size businesses. Spoiler alert, most of his finding support that wages and skills are equal contributing factors to the success of the future manufacturing workforce and that robots really aren’t taking our jobs.