Reference no: EM133266833

Case Study: Reskilling the Workers at General Motors

General Motors Company is planning for a future of electric vehicles (EVs). By 2035, it expects to be selling only EVs, which currently generate approximately 2 percent of sales and no profit. GM is currently retooling a factory in Detroit, Michigan, to produce EVs. GM now has over 100,000 workers around the world. If the company meets its goal to only sell EVs by 2035, these workers' skill sets will have to change.

For example, today's workers add components to an engine brought in from another plant. They add the transmission to the engine and add the assembly to the body of the vehicle. GM's platform for EVs has modular battery and drive units allowing for different combinations to be used for automobiles, trucks, crossovers, SUVs, and commercial vehicles. GM's new battery pack (Ultium) costs nearly 40 percent less than those found in GM's current EV, the Chevrolet Bolt.

The shift to EVs will have consequences for workers, their jobs, and the skills they need. The simpler design, fewer parts, and more flexible platforms of EVs mean less engineering and less assembly work. The number of jobs to produce batteries and electric motors and the power electronics will not be nearly as many as the number of jobs that are used to produce the parts of a gasoline vehicle.

Workers will need digital skills to understand data analytics that are embedded in the diagnostic tools needed to keep equipment operating. Also, workers' skill requirements will change as the technology used to manufacture EVs changes due to innovation and automation of processes. Workers will be performing more complex tasks that require longer time to complete in the assembly of electric- powered compared to gasoline-powered vehicles. Workers will need to be adaptable and capable of using a wider number of skills due to changes in the workflow.

Also, the shift to EVs brings the potential for new jobs in electric battery assembly and software engineering, for example, and yet-to-be-imagined opportunities that will come with the development of autonomous vehicles that are still years away from mainstream use. In autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence mimics and replaces human perceptual and decision-making processes that influence steering, breaking, speed control, and identification and avoiding obstacles.

For todays' workers who manufacture parts for gasoline or diesel engines or assemble vehicles, this means they need to be retrained in new assembly processes and the skills needed to make parts for EV motors and the batteries that power them. The United Autoworkers union, recognizing the implications of EVs for its members, has called for retraining workers and a national plan to support this effort

Question 1) What are the key skills and competencies required in the workforce of the 21st century?

Question 2) What is the role and contribution of the Learning & Development function to future-proof the workforce by addressing skills obsolescence?

Question 3) What do individuals need to do in terms of managing their careers to succeed and thrive in the gig economy?

Question 4) What role the governments at all levels need to play to partner with educational institutions, employers, and people in order to secure sustainable employment growth?