Rockwell Automation is helping shape the future through its new brand promise, Expanding Human Possibility. With that promise in mind, the company recently announced the “You Make It” Challenge, tapping young innovators for the next big ideas in technology and manufacturing.
By putting a call out to young innovators, Rockwell Automation is asking the next generation of builders and makers, ages 8-17, to share ways they would make the world work better. The goal of tasking young builders to exercise their practical and technological creativity is to expand what is possible in the space, building the next generation of tech and manufacturing innovators.
“Today’s dynamic new technologies are driving advances in nearly every profession and industrial sector – from cars to medicine,” Blake Moret, chairman and CEO at Rockwell Automation, said in a statement. “But there aren’t nearly enough skilled workers to fill the open jobs created by these technologies. It’s up to us, as an industrial automation and information leader, to inspire the next generation of innovators, problem solvers and makers.”
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that employment in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-related occupations will outpace overall job growth by nearly double – growing to more than 9 million between 2012 and 2022. A recent Deloitte study revealed the skills gap may leave an estimated 2.4 million manufacturing positions unfilled between 2018 and 2028, with a potential economic impact of $2.5 trillion.
Submissions from the “You Make It” Challenge will be judged on four main criteria: purpose, innovation, creativity and presentation. Three finalists will receive a grant toward a FIRST program of their choice and an all-expenses-paid trip to Chicago, where they will be paired with a Rockwell Automation mentor to help them present their ideas to industry leaders at Automation Fair. One grand-prize winner will then receive a personal Maker Space Kit worth an estimated $7,500.
“Through our technology and people, we are helping to inspire the next generation of innovators to fill the talent pipelines for our customers and for our company,” Moret said.
Complete details for the “You Make It” Challenge can be found at www.YouMakeItChallenge.com.
