About the talk
Dr. Renata Kolb, automation research lead at a national manufacturing institute, spoke at UW–Porter Falls in October 2025 as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series, nominated by the College of Engineering & Technology.
What the talk covered
Kolb argued that automation is displacing the most repetitive parts of skilled trades work while creating new demand for workers who can supervise, troubleshoot, and improve automated systems — a shift she said most workforce-development programs are still built around the old assumption.
A line worth remembering
“The trades aren't disappearing. The boring forty percent of every trade is disappearing, and somebody still has to do the other sixty.”
— Dr. Renata Kolb
If you missed it
Distinguished Lecture Series talks are recorded and streamed live from the Halvorsen Library auditorium, and a recording is typically posted afterward through the sponsoring college's page. Reach the College of Engineering & Technology directly if you are looking for a specific talk that is not yet posted.
How it connected to coursework
The College of Engineering & Technology typically builds a short discussion or reflection assignment around its nominated speaker into at least one course that term, so students who could not attend live still engage with the ideas secondhand. Faculty who teach in areas adjacent to “AI and the Future of Skilled Trades” say the Q&A after the formal talk is usually where the most specific, applicable answers come out — worth staying for if you do attend in person.
Common questions
Can students propose a speaker? Each college nominates its own speaker; a student with a suggestion should raise it with a faculty member or the department office in the relevant college, since faculty typically make the actual nomination.
Is attendance required for any course? Some instructors offer extra credit or a short reflection assignment tied to a relevant talk, but attendance is never a blanket requirement across the university.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. Dr. Renata Kolb and this talk are invented; nothing here describes a real lecture or a real speaker.