Among large parts of the world's population, there is fear that robots and technology will take our jobs. But in Harvard Business Review gives Abraham and Annunziata another angle on the connection between technology and workplaces. Because they actually see a movement that goes the other way.

Many companies experience problems with being able to recruit the right type of employees. According to the two authors, a Deloitte study from 2015 shows that over the next decade there will be 3.5 million vacant production jobs in the USA, but that 2 million of them remain unoccupied.

In short, the gap between competence requirements and the available workforce is growing.

According to the article, it is especially in the production sector that the problem is big. This is due, among other things, to the fact that a large proportion of production jobs today require a long-term education, which is in sharp contrast to the past, when most production jobs were filled by employees with a short education.

The complexity of the manufacturing methods means that higher education is necessary, but the supply of candidates with the right education cannot keep up with the growing need.

What is Augmented Reality?

Augmented Reality (AR) is still in its early stages of development. And most Danes probably know the technology best from 2017's Pokemon Go madness, where the cute little pocket monsters can be seen on the smartphone screen "superimposed" on reality. However, AR has many other uses.

In Danish, 'Augment' means 'to extend', to strengthen or to supplement. And that describes very well what it is that AR can do. AR functions as an extension or supplement to reality. As opposed to rendering or standing in for it. AR adds an extra 'layer' on top of reality, so to speak.

The most typical use is in various apps for your phone. You download an app to your phone, e.g. PokemonGo and then you can bring AR to the city streets, in your home or in nature without any other tools. All you have to do is open the app, hold the phone up in front of you and see your surroundings with a layer of data on top.

With the help of technology and your mobile phone, you can e.g. in IKEA's app see their furniture at home in your own living room, or you can download an app where you can point your mobile's camera at the night sky and find the name of "the particularly powerful star over there on the right".

How can AR help manufacturing companies?

As I said, AR also has great potential in manufacturing companies. According to jernindustri.dk, Vestas has developed an AR training simulator for their V164-8MW turbine, while GE has developed AR solutions for their technicians.

Employees at GE use, according to GE, smart glasses when they assemble wind turbines. Previously, employees had to stop work to check manuals or to contact an expert. With the AR glasses, they no longer have to miss work. Guidance and expertise are directly accessible in the glasses.

For GE, this means, according to Abraham and Annunziata, up to 25% faster task resolution.

So, paradoxically, while fears are growing that robots will take our jobs and that technology will make us redundant, technology can actually help improve efficiency and reduce the need for specialized labor simply because your current employees will be able to work more efficiently.