The economic value added produced by the tech industry has grown at an average annual rate of 5% over the past five years. If the sector maintains this growth rate, this added value will be twice as high in 2030 as it was in 2010. Yet the sector faces major challenges: the labour shortage will continue to increase in the coming years and better exploitation of digital technology is necessary to keep productivity growth high.
Three things are crucial for seizing digital opportunities. These should therefore be high on every manufacturer's agenda
- More and better-trained skilled workers;
- More intense collaboration in the chain;
- Plenty of investment in R&D.
"The technology industry has shown nice growth in recent years. The growing labour shortage demands action if the sector is to maintain the current growth rate. Technical professionals are becoming scarcer and IT professionals are also increasingly needed to take full advantage of digital opportunities. As a result of labour market tightness, productivity growth is the key driver for further growth, but also for improving international competitiveness."
Key take-aways from this sector study:
- Investing in technological advancement is crucial for growth of the tech industry.
- Productivity growth is key element to grow value added.
- Innovation and efficiency are key to overall productivity. This is boosted by:
- More efficient deployment of staff and capital
- Investing in knowledge and skills
- Investments in new technology
- Investment in research and development (R&D)
What is the potential of digitalisation for productivity?
Digitalisation is central in smart industry, this allows processes to be more efficient;
- Through online communication in the chain (suppliers and buyers).
- Between business units (purchasing, production, sales)
- Between machines and devices in the production process
Where are the opportunities for successful digitalisation?
- In automated factories. Linking machines via a digitisation layer offers possibility of fully (24/7) automated factory.
- More effective use of data. Data analytics offers great insight into process efficiency and product quality. If this is used for process optimisation, productivity can greatly improve.
- More efficient product design and engineering process through digital simulation. With design based on 'digital twin', product can be virtually produced and tested before prototyping.
Read the full sector study here.
