Can Robotics Save Rural America?

On a recent drive through rural Mississippi, I stopped to get gas and a quick bite to eat. I got off the highway at an exit that had a gas station and across the street a McDonalds'. I pulled into the gas station first and like many of us, pulled up to the pump, put in my card, and pumped my own gas. Did I interact with a single employee at the gas station? No need to, the process of pumping gas and paying for it has pretty much been....automated. When was the last time, you had someone pump your gas for you? This is why most stations are manned by one person now and they are more focused on running the shop side of the business, not the gas side.

Then I crossed the street and experienced something I had never experienced in my life - a closed McDonalds' with a sign saying they were closed due to staff shortages. The first thing that popped in my head was me wondering if the restaurant had had more automation and robotics, would they be able to be open with a smaller staff? Would the robots free up the humans on some tasks to the point the place could run with fewer people and therefore be open?

We know that these types of technologies are being tested. Miso Robotics is testing and deploying robotic burger flippers, robotic chip makers, and robotic coffee makers at various establishments. There are even AI deployments that will take your order in the drive-thru now and send it to the kitchen. Think Siri for fast food ordering.

I decided to keep on driving for food. Which meant my money and the sales tax from my sale also went with me on to the next town. This lack of money only continues to add to the shrinking of small town America. Think about the McDonalds' employees that probably could have been working if they had enough employees to actual open. This lack of paying fulltime jobs contributes to more people leaving town for other jobs in other towns and cities. It is a vicious cycle.

So could Robotics not only stop the exodus of people from rural America and potentially even create new high paying jobs for robot technicians?

Shrinking Rural America

Between 2010 and 2020, rural America lost population for the first time in our history as dramatic changes in the economy had a significant demographic impact. The loss was minimal, just 289,000 (-0.6%) out of 46 million, but it is the first decade-long rural population loss in history. In contrast, the rural population grew by 1.5 million between 2000 and 2010, and by nearly 3.4 million in the 1990s. Just 33.1% of rural counties gained population between 2010 and 2020, compared to 53.2% in the prior decade.

Rural areas that lose population face a number of problems. One is a shrinking workforce, making it more difficult for businesses to find workers who match their needs. Another problem is that of an aging population with an increasing need for health services, the provision of which is already a struggle as rural hospitals and other care facilities close. Then there is the problem of a shrinking tax base, which puts pressure on government budgets to fund essential services, such as infrastructure and public schools, that may help attract businesses and workers. In short, as people leave, the people and businesses that remain are generally worse off.

Bring In The Robots?

Since COVID hit, we have seen more and more factories and warehouses automate their processes using robotics due to the lack of people to hire. So should small town mayors start thinking like warehouse and factory managers?

Could robots not only replace the workers that are retiring or leaving, but keep those that are staying put well employed and potentially even attract new talent to install and maintain the robots?

A 2015 study by Anil Rupasingha, Yongzheng Liu, and Mark Partridge published in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics used statistical methods designed to help mitigate the issue of rural exodus. The researchers found that rural counties with higher salaries and job growth were especially effective in attracting workers from urban areas, with local economic conditions having a larger effect for short distance moves. Amenities like scenic landscapes and pleasant climates matter more in remote rural places for attracting urban residents.

A bright spot for rural areas are those places with high natural amenities. Numerous studies have confirmed the importance of amenity-driven migration to rural places. Those communities with scenic vistas and recreational opportunities appear to fare better with growth than other rural communities, when all other criteria is equal.

But are there strategies that rural places without desirable climates or scenic views can pursue? Schools and workforce development is one such strategy area for rural communities to consider. A study found that returnees thought highly of their local public schools. Research at the Richmond Fed and the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed this pattern. In a 2020 article in the Journal of Regional Science, researchers used test score and dropout data and found that increases in public school quality increased the number of new residents moving in to rural counties, even after taking into account natural amenities in the area. We all know that parents look to put their children into schools with programs that will give them advantages over other children not only in their home state, but the US and the World. A Robotics program at a school could be a big selling factor to parents.

It should also be noted that the effect of schools doesn't end at K-12. Community colleges and vocational institutions can also play an important role. In their 2009 book Hollowing Out the Middle: The Rural Brain Drain and What It Means for America, sociologists Patrick Carr and Maria Kefalas argued that a better linkage between high school students with vocational training and local jobs would help compensate for the loss of college-bound rural youth. The idea has appeal in that it would at least partially counteract the sense that some rural youth have that there is no opportunity in their hometowns.

So prior to bringing in the robots, we need to make investments in education and workforce development with a focus on robotics. However, that will take investment from BOTH the public and private sector. That sounds like a tall order, but it can happen if there is the political will to do it.

Enter the eKAMI Model

The eKentucky Advanced Manufacturing Institute (eKAMI) located in Paintsville, Kentucky has shown many people what is possible when effective workforce programs are deployed in rural America. Started in 2017 with a focus on training former coal miners in advanced manufacturing skills such as CNC Machines, they quickly expanded into robotics training after seeing many of their graduates being hired by robotic and automation firms in larger nearby cities. The ultimate goal for eKAMI is also to solve the chicken-egg problem for many manufacturers and other companies - Do you locate to where the workers are or do you build it and then hope the workers will come. eKAMI is making the local workforce robot and automation ready, so the companies will come.

eKAMI has also started a youth class for those individuals fresh out of high school. This is giving those that don't want to pursue college an option they didn't have prior. eAKMI has also recently started to go even further into the schools. Jacob Slone is only 14 years old, but after he completes his day at school, he comes to eKAMI to get in some time with the robots. Jacob is becoming an ambassador to those starting high school and making them aware of their eKAMI option even earlier in the process. Pictured is him showing me his skill with a MiR Robot. By the time, Jacob graduates high school, he will have a skill set so high in demand, he will be able to write his own job requirements. Unfortunately, there are thousands of Jacobs that don't have an eKAMI in their small town to create the same opportunities for themselves. That is where it will take both public and private investments to duplicate the model to as many communities as possible.

eKAMI receives both public and private funds, which has allowed them to offer such a diverse program to train students. The public funds helped get the building ready and the staff started. The private investment got the right equipment and tools into the school. Also the companies that have invested in eKAMI are hiring their graduates, thus addressing their own worker shortage issues. The joint public-private model is a win-win for everyone.

Political Will

The United States invested 25 percent less in workforce programming in 2020 than it did before the Great Recession. In a recent congressional budget hearing, Department of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh mentioned that the United States only spends about 0.1 percent of its gross domestic product on workforce development while other wealthy nations spend on average 0.6 percent. Chronic underinvestment in affordable and high-quality education and training has made it more difficult for dislocated workers to navigate the labor market.

There will need to be the political will on both sides of the political aisle to properly fund education and workforce development in the 21st Century. As eKAMI founder Kathy Walker has said numerous times about workforce development, "It is not a RED issue or a BLUE issue, it is an AMERICAN issue."

Politicians need to check their "Us vs. Them" attitude, because no one wins in those situations. Recently, the Tennessee Legislature passed a bill unanimously that would not only require computer science classes in every school district across the state, but millions in funding to get teachers trained to properly teach the material. So there is clearly hope that for this topic, politicians can indeed check their colors at the door.

So Where Do We Start For Rural America?

Many states have established grant programs to start robotics clubs, but these are mostly for competition programs like FIRST and VEX. Expanding these would be a good start, but that won't address the lack of dedicated teachers and volunteers needed to support those programs as well. Also, students that participate in those types of programs are not exactly ready to jump into jobs in robotics, especially industrial robots. If anything, we need to see more bills like the one the Tennessee Legislature passed, not only for Computer Science, but for Robotics and other trade programs.

State Legislatures and government agencies need to make it easier for companies to participate in the educational process. Teachers need to partner with local, national, and global companies to prepare their students for the jobs that exist now and will exist in the future. Legislators and bureaucrats need to create pathways where industry partners can get involved through advising new curriculum, donating equipment, and even making their team members available to students. Currently there are too many bureaucratic hurdles that leave companies frustrated and confused.

Companies in turn need to make commitments to invest in rural communities. COVID proved to the world that one can work from nearly anywhere in the world and get stuff done. Manufacturing companies need to look at communities like Paintsville, Kentucky that have institutes like eKAMI preparing the local workforce for the jobs they have. That would send a signal to other rural communities that if they build the workforce up, they will come. Companies should encourage their team members to give back to the next generation of team members while they are still learning.

Finally, private industry needs to grow their own training budgets to support these workforce institutions. Not only will it fill up their own talent pipeline, it will create a group of individuals that will recommend their products to the companies that hired them. An employee that is trained on how to operate "Brand A" robot is going to recommend to their employer who wants to introduce robots to their business "Brand A" robot.

Again this can all be a win-win for everyone, but especially for rural America. It will take a lot of us working together to do it.