Week 2 in Manufacturing News

The U.S. Tries New Tactics to Prosecute Chinese Chipmaker

As the Trump administration and China attempt to end their trade war, the U.S. is pushing forward on a key front of the conflict: a criminal prosecution of alleged trade-secret theft that has helped to hobble China’s aspirations of mass producing memory chips.

Prosecutors are deploying novel tactics in this latest fight, adding some experimental methods to layered enforcement actions to make sure there’s no mistake about the message: If China steals technology, it won’t go unpunished.

Full article on IndustryWeek.

Just 6% of UK 16-23 year-olds considering careers in manufacturing

Considering the huge technological change manufacturing businesses have undergone over the past five years, it remains clear that despite all our talk of the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’, the core message is failing to go beyond the four walls of industry.

Almost half (47%) state that manufacturing doesn’t appeal to them, with many young people displaying misconceptions around the skills that workers can develop – only one third (33%) of young people believe a career in manufacturing will provide them with advanced technology skills.

Instead, young people aspire towards careers in digital, technology and IT, with manufacturing ranking only 17th out of 19 potential career paths.

Full article on The Manufacturer.

Engineering salaries rise above UK average thanks to digital manufacturing

New data has shown that those who can help businesses capitalise on technological advances – such as digital technologies and automation – are seeing wages rise well above the national average.

Engineering salaries are being driven up by the increasing demand for candidates with digital skills to capitalise on emerging technologies, as well as the nationwide shortage of engineering talent more broadly.

Full article on The Manufacturer.

Industrial Robotic Arms Race Leaves Experts Asking ‘What Manufacturing Slowdown?

Analysts at Framingham, Mass.-based technology industry research firm IDC recently forecast that the total market for robotics spending will reach nearly $120 billion in 2019, an 18% increase over last year’s spending.

By 2022, the size of the robotics market – robots, drones, and all related technology and services – will total $210 billion. Around half of that will be in manufacturing, said John Santagate, research director of commercial service robotics, IDC. “Slowdown?” Santagate replied during a phone interview Jan. 8. “What slowdown?”

Full article on The Manufacturer.

Digital manufacturing a growing influence on business success

Digital Manufacturing Week and the Digitalising Manufacturing Conference showcased UK manufacturing in optimistic mood. Members of the cross-industry Digital Readiness Level Tool organisation were there to hear inspirational stories from suppliers, makers and their customers.

In late October 2018, the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) hosted Digitalising Manufacturing 2018, one year on from the launch of the Made Smarter review

Full article on The Manufacturer.

How vulnerable is the manufacturing sector to cyber-attack?

Stuart Moulton from Cisco’s cybersecurity team assesses outcomes, risks and mitigation within the rapidly evolving cybersecurity threat landscape.
Covering questions like:

• What should manufacturers be aware of in terms of key trends and cyber-attacks within the industrial sector?
• How vulnerable to cyber-attacks is Manufacturing as an industry?
• Do manufacturers have the important skills sets to deal with threats?