From Bridgeports to cobots: How manufacturing tech changes challenge the depleted workforce

Modern shops need people with a large range of skills—from setting up a mill, to reading gauges, to posting CNC code, to teaching cobots to tend, inspect, and pass parts safely.

Jobs and functions are changing so rapidly that it makes sense that training needs to shift alongside the industry. More than 11 million people work in manufacturing today, and a projected 3.8 million more are needed by 2033—half of those are at risk of going unfilled without training.

See also: Turning workforce challenges into digital opportunities

Cross‑training that fuses manual machining foundations, CNC, and robot operation/programming generates a scalable solution for the labor force. On the floor, this shortens training on-ramps and transitions job shops into resilient businesses that can withstand the challenges presented today.

Case studies show cobot machine‑tending delivers large throughput gains with ROI in under a year, and 2025 order data shows steady demand for robots and continued investment.

Until 2033, manufacturers’ need for new hires will enter eight figures, and half of those roles may stay vacant without escalating our current training pipelines.

Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows factories are advertising 400,000 to 500,000 openings every month. In May this year alone, for example, 414,000 vacancies were logged. Senior technicians are retiring faster than replacements arrive, so the gap continues to grow.

Retirements outpace the machinist pipeline

So, what’s the solution? In short, apprenticeship, but that’s not what you think. This training modality has more misinformation than any other model and that’s because most people are familiar with how the construction industry uses the model.

However, manufacturing differs from one vertical to another, and there’s no standardization on how apprenticeships are implemented, which means there are a variety of ways to deploy this training model.

Q&A: Roadmap to Industry 5.0 with Ganesh Bukka of Hitachi Digital Services

Partnering with training providers who take care of all the administrative and reporting burden is one great way to scale smaller teams. (Here is a short podcast that spells out the common myths and benefits of apprenticeships.) Manufacturing apprenticeships reached just 96,500 in 2024—well short of industry demand.

Networks focus on robotics and digital know‑how

The NIST MEP network coaches smaller plants on pairing automation with workforce upskilling so crews can run cobots, AI tools, and Industry 4.0 technology.

Bridgeport knee mills: An employer use case

Bridgeport manual knee mills have anchored American machine shops since Rudolph Bannow's 1938 design and set the standard for vertical milling.

Their hand‑wheels, quill, and R8 toolholder force students to feel feeds, speeds, clamping pressure, and tool touch‑off in a way no screen can teach.

The surprising thing is that completely automated factories keep a Bridgeport manual knee mill near the tool room for quick one‑off fixtures and to pass those fundamentals to fresh hires.

Once those basics are mastered, the work shifts to CNC machines tended by collaborative robots, or “cobots,” that now load stock, unload parts, and run in‑process checks.

Cobots captured 11% of all industrial‑robot installations in 2023. With yearly sales closing in on $3 billion and forecasts topping 30% growth, they give small and midsize shops an affordable next step in automation.

What integrated training can look like

Integrated training begins with shop‑floor essentials—safe machine handling, blueprint reading, precision measurement, and material identification.

Such basics include LOTO and OSHA topics, so safety habits form early. Only then do students move to G/M‑code, CAM toolpaths, multi‑axis offsets, and simulation, and follow the step‑up path in the machining class catalog.

With fundamentals in place, learners design a small cell where a cobot loads a mill or lathe, checks parts, and sends data to quality control, and many labs are already adopting this.

They map robot I/O to CNC M‑codes, build vision pick templates, and track part flow. Such an exercise shows automation, machining, and data handling as one connected system.

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From day one, students accomplish risk assessments, choose guarded or collaborative modes, and set cobot speed‑and‑force limits using ISO/TS 15066 guidance.

Not only that, but they also wire e‑stops, validate monitored stops, and practice lockout/tagout—topics embedded alongside blueprint reading in the machining fundamentals curriculum. Current safety courses reinforce such habits and combine robot programming with daily hazard reviews.

How to match with the right training provider

To do this, you must ask the correct questions:

• Does their training accommodate the equipment we use, our employee work schedule and our training outcome goals?
• Can they provide training on new equipment being implemented in your shops?
• Does the training suit your budget? Do they have workforce partners, WIOA or other grants, or access to any other support that can offset the expense to the employer?
• Do they offer apprenticeship programs that fit the training needs of the employer?
• Do they take care of the administrative burden of the reporting and compliance and state/national registration of apprenticeship programs?

Machinist + Robotics ROI

When a machinist who can also run a teach pendant is on the floor, a cobot cell gets programmed in hours, and parts start cutting the same shift. If that isn’t enough to draw your attention, companies like Swiss Productions gained 32 additional spindle hours each week after their team deployed two cobots on their own.

See also: The hardware problem that is stalling half of all digital transformation projects

Note that the boost in spindle uptime—from uninterrupted tending, faster changeovers, and lights‑out shifts—pushes the payback period into the six‑ to 12‑month range.

Quality and Throughput Gains

Metrology‑literate operators can plug vision‑ready cobots straight into the cell, gauge parts inline, and remove hand‑offs. The robot's consistency, plus on‑the‑spot checks, decreases scrap and stoppages.

Workforce Resilience

Registered manufacturing apprenticeships have risen 27% in five years, and 91% of completers stay with the company that trained them.

No doubt, this ladder lets new hires move from cell operator to programmer or maintenance tech, shrinks recruiting costs, and keeps know‑how in‑house.

With a quarter of factory workers already over 55—and millions more set to retire before 2033—building talent internally is now risk management, not a perk.