FACTORY OF THE FUTURE
There ’ s an Indie video game called ‘ Night In The Woods ’ that exploded in popularity in 2018 . The game ’ s appeal , aside from its cute platform-style gameplay and colourful cast of animal characters , was its incredibly tangible , realistic storytelling .
So much of this storytelling came from its setting : the fictional town of Possum Springs , a contemplative rust-belt rendition of post-globalisation obsolescence .
There used to be work in the glass and tyre factory but opportunity dried up when manufacturers moved out or abroad , pursuing the desirable business incentives of setting up shop in China or India .
The world moved on and it moved on without the workers in Possum Springs . In the real world today this dynamic has somewhat reversed .
We ’ ve all heard that the manufacturing sector has a hiring crisis , but it ’ s more than that . It ’ s a retention crisis , one that ’ s not just about retaining people but retaining vital knowledge .
As technology rapidly advances and a wave of workers move on , who is going to take their place ?
The scale of this problem has been recognised across the manufacturing sector , including by some of the most influential companies in the world .
“ Roughly 112 million workers , 70 % of the working population , hold frontline jobs ,” says Francis Yu , Deloitte Unlimited Reality Business Lead , General Manager & Partner at Deloitte .
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