deloitte insights: researching the additive manufacturing skills gap
My Role
Lead user researcher on a team at The Lanterman Group, an additive manufacturing strategy firm
The Challenge
Understand skills gap between graduating students and workforce needs to publish white paper.
Skills
User Research | Interviewing | Journey Mapping | Writing
context
Deloitte Insights observed that additive manufacturing training needs to change
Deloitte Insights is a leader in research and analysis of emerging trends and technology for industry leaders. In partnership with Deloitte Insights, our team at The Lanterman Group explored the additive manufacturing (AM) skills gap between graduates of higher education or certificate programs and the needs of companies.
As the lead user researcher, I developed the interview guide, conducted all interviews, and synthesized information into insights. The goal was to publish insights and recommendations to train the next generation of additive manufacturing talent.
Research
Developing the discussion guide to understand current attitudes and best practices for A.M. education
My first step was to define our research objectives. Through both discussions with the client and some secondary research, we were able to define our research objectives.
Overall, our goal was to understand the details of innovative education programs, how programs align academic offerings with industry needs, and the tactical ways programs are involving industry grade equipment.
Two discussion guides were created—industry hiring managers and academic leader. The sections for the academic leader were divided into the following topics to meet our research objectives:
Background Information – Learn about the interviewee and their experience with AM.
AM Usage in Institution Assessment – Learn about their institution’s education and extra-curricular programs.
Industry Collaborations Assessment – Learn about ways in which their institution is working to prepare students for the workforce.
Skills Gap Assessment – Learn about their perspective on necessary skills for students to be successful in an AM career.
Workforce Solutions – Learn about strategic goals and tactical methods to address the widely known shortage of skilled workers.
Interviews with academic leaders and hiring managers focused on a variety of contexts
I led all interviews for this project- 11 interviews with educators and 7 interviews with industry experts. In selection of interviewees, we identified stakeholders across a variety of industries utilizing AM and academic experts representing advanced degrees and certificate programs.
Image description: Flat graphic of the torso of a man with short brown hair and green shirt with words above “11 educators.” flat graphic of a woman with shoulder length blonde hair in yellow safety vest and black shirt with words above, “7 managers from industry.”
Insights
A holistic approach is needed to prepare a multidisciplinary workforce
It was clear from our discussions with industry, that the AM workforce needs graduates who have multidisciplinary skills. Successful use and application of AM technologies needs a creative mindset which differs from traditional manufacturing.
As one industry insider bluntly stated, “We don’t need a typical CAD/AM design person. We need someone who can integrate the physics, software, material, and creative thinking knowledge around AM into a new product.”
Another clear insight was that students are putting pressure on academic institutions to provide opportunities to engage in AM. Early exposure to AM has created a pipeline of students seeking education to prepare them for careers in AM.
To meet the demand for talent, industry and academia need to partner in developing the next generation of skilled workers. The research synthesis made it clear that there are different levels of maturity and different approaches to AM education. Therefore, I created a framework of strategies that educational institutions can use to better serve their students.
Early mapping of strategic framework; Image description: Yellow post-its arranged in rows
A framework to identify opportunities for educational institutions combines curriculum, facilities, research, and collaboration; Image description: Graphic from the published Deloitte Insights report showing the levels of advancement for AM capabilities
outcomes
White paper published on Deloitte Insights
All interview data was supplemented by a literature review and I assisted with writing of the final white paper. To read the full report, view the white paper on the Deloitte Insights website or download.