Packaging Machinery Technicians

The U.S. Department of Labor predicts that employment for industrial machinery mechanics will increase at a much faster than average rate (17 percent) through 2033. With the growth of the packaging industry, which grosses more than $107 billion a year, a nationwide shortage of trained packaging machinery technicians has developed over the last 25 years.

The packaging machinery industry is expected to continue its growth in the 21st century. American-made packaging machinery has earned a worldwide reputation for high quality and is known for its outstanding control systems and electronics. Continued success in global competition will remain important to the packaging machinery industry's prosperity and employment outlook.

The introduction of computers, robotics, fiber optics, and vision systems into the industry has added new skill requirements and job opportunities for packaging machinery technicians. There is already widespread application of CAD/CAM technology. The use of computers in packaging machinery will continue to increase, with computers communicating with other computers on the status of operations and providing diagnostic maintenance information and production statistics. The role of robotics, fiber optics, and electronics will also continue to expand. To be prepared for the jobs of the future, packaging machinery students should seek training in the newest technologies.

Because packaging is one of the largest industries in the United States, jobs can be found across the country, in small towns and large cities, in small companies or multiplant international corporations. The jobs are not restricted to any one industry or geographical location—wherever there is industry, there is some kind of packaging going on.