The Manufacturing Skills Gap in 2026: The Numbers and the Skills to Learn

The manufacturing skills gap in 2026 is large and well measured. Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute estimate that US manufacturing could need up to 3.8 million new employees between 2024 and 2033, and that up to 1.9 million of those jobs could go unfilled. The skills in shortest supply are digital and technical: simulation, automation, controls and the maintenance of automated equipment.

Checked 1 October 2026. The figures below come from Deloitte, The Manufacturing Institute and the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), listed under Sources.

How big is the manufacturing skills gap?

The headline numbers come from the 2024 talent study by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute (the workforce development partner of the US National Association of Manufacturers). It was published on 3 April 2024 and is still the most quoted estimate:

• Up to 3.8 million new manufacturing employees could be needed in the US between 2024 and 2033.
• About 1.9 million of those jobs, more than five in ten, could go unfilled if workforce challenges are not addressed.
• 65% of manufacturers named attracting and retaining talent as their main business challenge, citing the NAM's first-quarter 2024 survey.

The study combined a survey of more than 200 US manufacturers, interviews with more than 10 senior executives and labour supply and demand data. These are projections, not counts, and they are about the United States. But they are the clearest public measure of the shortage, and the same trends appear wherever factories are investing.

What changed in 2026

Two newer Deloitte publications add detail:

• The 2026 Manufacturing Industry Outlook reports a 2025 survey of 600 manufacturing executives. More than a third named equipping workers with the skills for smart manufacturing as their top concern. Eighty per cent plan to put 20% or more of their improvement budgets into smart manufacturing, led by automation hardware, data analytics, sensors and cloud computing. Physical AI is coming fast: 22% plan to use it within two years, up from 9% today.
• The skilled manufacturing workforce and AI, published on 9 September 2026 with The Manufacturing Institute, looks at technicians. It projects 2.3 million job openings across manufacturing and adjacent technician occupations in the US between 2025 and 2030. It says employers need "multiskilled technicians" across mechanical, electrical and control systems.

Why is there a gap if robots are taking over?

Because robots create work for people who can install, program and keep them running. The IFR's World Robotics 2026 report, released on 24 September 2026, counted a record 5 million industrial robots operating in factories worldwide in 2025. That is up 9%, from more than 600,000 new installations that year. China installed 354,000, about 59% of the world total. The United States passed Japan to become the second-largest market, with almost 38,500 installations. Germany remained the largest market in Europe. The IFR forecasts 655,000 installations in 2026 and 806,000 in 2029.

Deloitte's 2026 outlook expects more than 81% of manufacturing task hours to remain human-driven. The jobs change rather than vanish. Fewer people move parts by hand, and more people set up, program, troubleshoot and supervise the equipment that does.

Which skills are in demand?

Deloitte's analysis of five years of job postings found a 75% rise in demand for simulation and simulation software skills, the biggest gain it reported. It also saw rising demand for advanced manufacturing processes. Over the next five years, manufacturers said they would prioritise leadership, digital and soft skills. Translated into the technical skills that controls and maintenance teams hire for:

1. Simulation and virtual commissioning. Testing PLC code against a simulated machine before the real one exists, using tools such as PLCSIM, Factory I/O, robot simulators and digital twins. This is the skill Deloitte's data singles out.
2. PLC programming and troubleshooting. It is still the core of automation work, from ladder logic to structured text. Reading someone else's program at 3 a.m. is a skill in its own right.
3. Robot programming and maintenance. Teach-pendant and offline programming, frames and payloads, safe recovery after a fault, and the PLC handshake between robot and cell.
4. Electrical and instrumentation fundamentals. Motor control, drives, 4-20 mA loops, sensors and safe isolation. The multiskilled technician Deloitte describes needs this base.
5. Plant data and AI literacy. Getting data out of PLCs and SCADA, making sense of it, and using AI tools with care. Deloitte's technician study names prompt design, output interpretation and validation.
6. Soft skills. Deloitte notes that critical thinking, problem-solving and creativity underpin many of the fastest-growing skills. Writing a clear fault report counts.

How can I learn these skills in six months for free?

This plan assumes about eight to ten hours a week and no hardware. Every course below is free, runs in vendor trial or free software with simulators, and ends with one final assessment.

Month 1: electrical basics. Take Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians, then Industrial Motor Control. Everything in automation sits on these.

Month 2: PLC programming. Take Siemens TIA Portal or Allen-Bradley Studio 5000. Pick whichever brand your target employers use, and check five local job adverts first. Our guide to how long it takes to learn PLC programming sets realistic expectations.

Month 3: simulation and virtual commissioning. Take TIA Portal with Factory I/O. You program nine machines you can watch move in 3D before they exist. This is the skill Deloitte's data shows rising fastest.

Month 4: instruments and loops. Take Industrial Instrumentation and Process Control, then PID Control for PLC Engineers. Use the free 4-20 mA calculator and PID tuning calculator as you go.

Month 5: robots. Take FANUC Robot Programming or ABB RobotStudio and RAPID, both in simulation. Our free robot simulator comparison shows which software to use.

Month 6: data and AI. Take AI for Industrial Automation, or Industrial Data with Python if you can already code.

Projects beat certificates

Each month, finish one small project and keep evidence of it: a screen recording, the project archive and a one-page write-up. Six projects after six months is a portfolio, and it answers the question every hiring manager asks: "show me something you built." The free skills gap finder compares your skills with a target role. The ATS resume checker checks whether your CV will get past the first filter.

What does this mean for your career?

• Technicians and electricians: the multiskilled route is the opening. Add PLC and drive skills to an electrical background and you fit the profile Deloitte describes.
• Graduates: simulation skills are your fastest way to show practical ability without site experience.
• Engineers changing sector: robot cells, packaging lines and process plants all need controls people. Use the automation engineer career guide to choose a direction.

Wherever you are, read local job adverts before you choose a vendor. Siemens is common in Europe, the Middle East and much of Asia, and Rockwell in North America, but this varies by sector and employer.

All EDWartens courses are free to study. An optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, from US$2.99, is issued after you pass a course's final assessment, and it can be checked at edwartens.com/verification. It is not a vendor certification and is not accredited. See all free courses to start.

Take the free course

Electrical · Beginner · Free

Electrical Fundamentals for Technicians: Volts to Multimeter to Drawings

PLC programming · Beginner · Free

Siemens TIA Portal with Factory I/O: Virtual Commissioning Projects

Robotics · Beginner · Free

FANUC Robot Programming with the Teach Pendant and ROBOGUIDE

AI and machine learning · Intermediate · Free

AI for Industrial Automation