{"id":55257,"date":"2025-09-05T08:03:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T07:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/manufacturing-today.com\/?p=55257"},"modified":"2025-09-03T11:10:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T10:10:08","slug":"five-ways-manufacturers-can-balance-future-human-digital-skills-demands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/manufacturing-today.com\/news\/five-ways-manufacturers-can-balance-future-human-digital-skills-demands\/","title":{"rendered":"Five ways manufacturers can balance future human-digital skills demands"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recent research found that knowledge workers\u2019 critical thinking is weakened by using generative AI tools. Separately, a Harvard study suggested that AI tools boost individuals\u2019 productivity but increase their isolation from colleagues.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These studies illustrate the complexity of the upskilling task facing manufacturing sector Learning and Development (L&D) managers. The complex scenarios add urgency to the fundamental question of how manufacturers can meet the balance of AI-driven and human skills required amid today\u2019s unpredictable trading conditions, fast-changing working models, and pressure on skills budgets.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"aThe underlying context is that as manufacturing invests in more technology-intensive operations, individual companies will make greater use of multiple data sets, new workflows and multi-team collaborations, demanding higher-order human skills, to successfully collaborate and innovate. World Economic Forum research found that seven out of ten firms regard analytical thinking as an essential skill; many L&D teams find analytical reasoning the key subset for upskilling.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In these conditions, achieving a balance of human and technical skills is essential to manufacturers to drive efficiencies, keep innovating and raise productivity. The World Economic Forum calculates that organizations investing in human capital alongside their technology capabilities can raise productivity by between four percent and 11 percent. Hemsley\u2019s own study of US & UK learning professionals in 2024 found that employees developing \u2018human skills\u2019 was the key learning change they wanted.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a result, learning teams will need to rapidly build their leaders and workforces\u2019 \u2018human or leadership\u2019 skills for collaboration and connectedness – as well as ensuring that individual employees\u2019 have the right blend of digital and technical skills for their changing role.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The data on training demand reflect this duality: in Make UK\u2019s \u2018Sustainable Workforce Survey 2024, the areas of highest demand were leadership and management (66 percent), higher order technical skills (58 percent), digital skills (37 percent) and data analytics (29 percent).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hemsley manufacturing sector research found divisions over strategy and workforce barriers to upskilling. Regarding strategy, one in three (29 percent) manufacturers say they are rolling out an outcomes-focused strategy for skills and performance improvement, while one quarter (25 percent) want a skills-based approach. The same proportion (25 percent) is planning an employee performance strategy but hasn\u2019t implemented it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When it came to workforce-related barriers, one quarter of manufacturers highlighted low employee motivation as an obstacle and one sixth admitted they haven\u2019t got a clear skills strategy. One in seven says market conditions are against them while the same proportion reckons their workforce is resistant to change\/innovation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Five ways to power upskilling\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In these conditions, manufacturers will need a balance of five approaches to design learning strategies for such a unique task and ensure employees\u2019 engagement with them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

First, L&D teams have to collaborate closely with company leaders to agree clear strategies for their workforces to acquire both human and digital skills. Learning professionals and company executives need plans that identify workforces\u2019 skills needs, communicate priorities and determine whether new human and digital skills programs can be operated simultaneously \u2013 or as related programs if budget or bandwidth is challenging.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Second, L&D teams need dynamic and exciting learning strategies; approaches that harness the best of intelligent technologies like AI to customize learning in the flow of work and at scale. These approaches enable individual employees to \u2018pull\u2019 personal learning and performance support assets \u2018just in time\u2019 while benefitting from broader \u2018push\u2019 learning<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many employees are disengaged from content library learning platforms or weary of repeated workplace reorganizations and IT upgrades. As a result, skills strategies need to reignite people\u2019s enjoyment of learning or convince the cynical that their employer is right behind them in upskilling endeavors and help build critical mass for new learning and training.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Third, L&D teams should persuade company leaders to become learning role models. Actions speak louder than words and leaders that demonstrably bring\"a learning into their working hours will create \u2018permission\u2019 for managers and employees to adopt new learning techniques and ring-fence diary time for skills sessions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fourth, company bosses must find the right balance between face-to-face and remote learning programs to optimize learning investment and boost outcomes. We have found renewed enthusiasm for face-to-face approaches in 2025 as people tire of too much digital or virtual learning.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fifth, learning teams need to ensure their companies become more supportive learning organizations. L&D professionals can develop a \u2018shared endeavor\u2019 effect across their learning programs by encouraging informal support groups, in and out of work, or rooted in existing social media, or harnessing clever AI tools, to reinforce colleagues\u2019 learning behaviors. This approach can also open external resources like professional networks and seminars to aid employees\u2019 longer-term skills and career development.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Engineering change\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

UK manufacturers need creative learning options to inspire colleagues to acquire the blend of human and technical skills that AI demands. If learning teams communicate clear skills targets, harness smart new learning at work approaches, turn leaders into learning champions, make learning fun again and bring their people into supportive learning networks, they will successfully address the once-in-a-generation skills challenge from AI.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By Lynsey Whitmarsh\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.hemsleyfraser.com<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Lynsey Whitmarsh is CEO at Hemsley Fraser, a full-service learning and people development partner. It enables organizations to quickly activate change and realize their business goals through a mix of transformative learning content, a flexible technology platform, and a complete suite of services.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recent research found that knowledge workers\u2019 critical thinking is weakened by using generative AI tools. Separately, a Harvard study suggested<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":55258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[685,2],"tags":[1719,3916,3951,3952],"class_list":["post-55257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","category-features","tag-skills","tag-3916","tag-lynsey-whitmarsh","tag-hemsley-fraser"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFive ways manufacturers can balance future human-digital skills demands<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Recent research found that knowledge workers\u2019 critical thinking is weakened by using generative AI tools\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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