I suspect the outsourcing wave of the 70s-present underestimated the complexity that goes into "mundane" manufacturing that could easily be "outsourced" while t

I suspect the outsourcing wave of the 70s-present underestimated the complexity that goes into "mundane" manufacturing that could easily be "outsourced" while the R&D parts of the company sorted out the hard problems. In practice many smart people would have gone to work in manufacturing doing the mundane work, hone their "practice" and eventually solve or at least work around the swampy problems inherent to the field. Eventually moving up into various lead positions with the firm. Now we're left with credentialed experts produced by academic programs designing machines while never visiting a factory floor.