Automation skills gap in SMEs in Sweden

Automation technology is a growing field that demands workers with specific automation skills, but there aren’t enough workers possessing these skills. We present a case study about the growing skills gap for automation technology and the challenges this brings.

The Swedish manufacturing and logistics industry stands at a juncture; escalating demands for streamlined operations, efficiency, and sustainable practices. With increasing demands and volume, the need for automation solutions becomes more and more inevitable. But along with new technology also comes the demand for skills to operate, handle and understand these new technologies. Here lies the issue, Sweden does not have enough knowledgeable labor to handle this, we are facing a big challenge which must be addressed to avoid the risk of outsourcing to other countries or closing down operations completely.

The purpose of our study is to investigate what challenges the automation skills gap is causing for SMEs in Sweden today and for the future and investigate how automation providers can help alleviate the growing skills gap for their SME customers.
By addressing the growing skills gap now and working to mitigate it, we can fortify Sweden’s industry capacity to navigate the complexities of tomorrow's manufacturing and logistics landscape.

The results presented in this study highlight the crucial need for action and how different actors in the supply chain can work with the issue both as individual firms and through collaboration. Our solutions to address the skills gap are applicable, feasible, adaptable, both short-and long-term and cover many different players in the supply chain affected by the issue.

To maintain Sweden’s strong foothold in the industrial market we must ensure that the Swedish workforce has the skills needed to evolve with new technology.