Manufacturers have constantly had to adapt to new challenges to stay productive and economically viable. Currently, they are having to face a revolution in technology in the digital age that requires agile responses to new challenges. Key policy and industry reports predict that there will be a skill disruption when a manufacturer integrates Industry 5.0 which is defined as people working alongside robots and smart machines. When smart technologies are introduced, skills need change. These changes do bring challenges to manufacturers and create a necessary shift in skills. Each manufacturing facility has its unique impact of technology on production and processes which will affect the nature of the skill disruption. The introduction of automation connected to these smart technologies' present skill-transition challenges for the manufacturing operation and the individual worker. Hesitation from manufacturers as how to navigate those skill transitions has led to slow adoption of automation. Manufacturers who are successfully transitioning to Industry 5.0 within their operation are doing so through trial and error and developing their own skills in house. In response to these challenges, we have developed a customized approach of assessing the organization holistically and create a transformational roadmap called Strategic Process Roadmap (SPR). SPR focuses on processes that not only adapt new technologies in the factory floor but also on information centric facets of the organization. This roadmap is used to align the people's talent needs to a Skills Development Plan (SDP) for each manufacturer. The early participants in this study were manufacturers that are part of the regional Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) system. With this approach, we are enabling manufacturers to align their automation integration with the skill sets required for a successful implementation. This paper will discuss the challenges for a manufacturer in integrating Industry 5.0 and outline an assessment structure with real world manufacturing case studies. © 2023 IEEE.
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