The majority of manufacturing professionals in the UK have never seen job losses as a result of the introduction of robots or automation while more than a third say that robots have often resulted in job creation, according to research from CV-Library.

The research was conducted with more than 1,000 manufacturing professionals and led by The Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors, non-profit body for ergonomists and human factors practitioners. It aimed to discover the perception and reality of automation and robotics amongst those who experience it first-hand.

According to the research, 72.6% of the manufacturing professionals feel society is scare-mongered into believing robotics and automation are a negative progression.

Further findings revealed that 78.9% of professionals feel more should be done to promote the benefits of automation and robotics in the workplace. Meanwhile, almost half of industry professionals (45.8%) claim the business they work for does not communicate the benefits of automation to staff, particularly to those involved in first-hand production. Therefore, half of industry professionals (52%) admit that there is resistance from employees when implementing new automated processes. When asked who was responsible for promoting the benefits, respondents said employers (80%) and technology suppliers (67.8%).

“Automation requires programmers and maintainers in areas where they may not have been previously necessary,” Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, said. “This presents a real opportunity to businesses and manufacturers that are embracing change. It’s essential to keep people at the heart of new technology and to ‘on-board’ staff at the earliest opportunity. Human factors plays a significant role in the on-boarding process and is essential to ensuring employees are not resistant to change.”

“These latest findings are good news for the UK’s labour market,” Biggins said. “Skills shortages are an ongoing concern across a number of industries, so it’s refreshing to hear that new technologies and processes in the workplace can help to close this gap and support businesses in upskilling their workforce.”