While the state of industrial robotics education is in disarray, the issue does not lay with educators trying to develop curriculums to teach students robotics. Educators are following a decades-old approach that focuses on difficult to use, brand-specific robot skills. Educators need a new approach, one that leverages advances in technology to make robot programming easier rather than doubling down on just delivering an outdated version of robotics education. The challenges stem from a stubborn industry, where vendors create their own unique walled gardens, with their own robot programming language and associated interfaces. Such approaches make it difficult to teach the full set of skills students need to deploy automation when they get to their new jobs.

United Technology's announcement last November that its Carrier Corp. plant would keep jobs in Indiana rather than move them to Mexico was heralded as a significant victory for American workers. However, the true impact of the deal was hidden below the headlines. United Technologies CEO, Greg Hayes, said the company will invest $16M "to...automate to drive the cost down so that we can continue to be competitive... ultimately...there will be fewer jobs." Carrier's plans underscore a harsh reality: most American jobs aren't going to Mexico, China or another foreign country, they're being automated. The workers left behind often struggle to find employment for comparable pay because they lack the skills required for the jobs that aren't threatened by automation.