Hexagon and Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing Launch 2026 Future Skills Challenge
Hexagon and Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing will launch the 2026 Future Skills Challenge in September, as the competition returns with a broader mission: to help manufacturers recognise the digital-native problem-solvers they may be overlooking.
Following a successful debut in 2025, which more than 1,100 successfully completed, the Challenge will again invite participants worldwide to test the skills shaping the future of high-performance engineering, manufacturing, and the growing role of disruptive technologies. The online competition opens on 1 September and runs until 21 October, at which point the selected finalists will be invited to the Red Bull Technology Campus in the UK on 17 November.
Why It Matters Nowย
Manufacturing’s talent challenge is not simply a shortage. It is also a leakage problem: technically capable people often move into other sectors before they ever consider a career in advanced manufacturing. In the UK,ย Skills England data cited by government in 2026ย found that only 7% of total science graduates entered the manufacturing workforce in academic year 2021/22.ย Forrester Consulting researchย commissioned by Hexagonย also foundย globalย manufacturers cite problem solving and digital literacy as key gaps among new job applicants, while theย World Economic Forumย identifies AI and big data, technological literacy, analytical thinking, creative thinking, resilience,ย and agility amongย growing in importanceย asย core skillsย over the next 4 years.
The Future Skills Challenge is designed to make thatย issueย visible. It asks whether the pattern recognition,ย dataย interpretation, strategic thinking and rapid decision-making developed through gaming, sim racing,ย and esports could become pathways to digital manufacturingย careers echoingย the recruitmentย drive we have seen fromย employers such as the armed forcesย for drone pilots and intelligence analysts.
Hexagon Point of Viewย
Hexagon isย supporting thisย effort because itsย Manufacturing Intelligenceย business areaย worksย with customers facingย a talent acquisition Catch-22.ย Itsย products are used byย manufacturersย across the connected loop that defines modern production: production software that helps turn design intent into efficientย production andย machining strategies;ย high speed CMMs,ย 3Dย laser scanningย and robotic inspectionย technologiesย that connectย theย virtualย designs andย manufacturingย plans withย theirย physicalย productย so in digital twins so thatย smart people andย AIย can improve.
The same data-led mindset that helps sim racers read telemetry and optimise performance is increasingly important for manufacturers producing complex products such as racing cars,ย aircraftย components, drones, eVTOLs,ย and wind turbines.
“Manufacturing has changed enormously, but the industry’s perception of who belongs in engineering has not always kept pace,”ย said Emanuelย Viklund, Presidentย of Hexagonโs Portable Metrology Division. “Factories need people who can interpret data, solve complex problems and work confidently with production software, metrology, simulation, automation,ย and AI.ย Theย Future Skillsย Challengeย helps digital-native talent see manufacturing as a place where those abilities can make a real-world impact.”ย
“Elite sim racing is about far more than speed,” saidย Morganย Ashurst, Esports & Gaming Lead atย Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing. “Drivers and engineers work with live data, changing conditions,ย and constant trade-offs. Theyย have toย communicate clearly, learn quickly,ย and make decisions under pressure. Those behaviours translate naturally into high-performance engineering and modern manufacturing.”ย
Building on last year’sย Future Skills:ย Telemetry Tested challenge, the 2026 programmeย isย againย beingย developed with MENSA, the high-IQ society, to test participants through rapid-fire, data-driven scenarios measuring speed, logic, analysis, strategy,ย and problem-solving under pressure. The first challengeย demonstratedย the breadth of potential talent, with finalistsย emergingย from backgrounds including software engineering, rail operations,ย and esports engineering.
What Happeningย
Challenge Live: 1 September to 21 October 2026 (look out for pre-registration announcements in August on Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence and Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing social media)
Final Event: 17 November 2026 atย theย Red Bullย Technology Campus, Milton Keynes, UK
Open To: global participants interested in esports, engineering, gaming, manufacturing, technology, motorsport, data, AI or simulation
Delivered by: Hexagon and Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing
For more information: www,hexagon.com
