THE role of training and development in the era of Industry 4.0 will become more significant and challenging in the effort to yield knowledgeable and highly skilled human resource.
This is very much linked with the demands of Industry 4.0 that is based on computer technology and automation. Human resource has to be exposed with the need to equip one's capability in addressing the demands of Industry 4.0. These can be achieved through training and human resource development.
The investment strategy in the current and future organisation's human resource training and development will demonstrate the transition of training and development towards empowering the skills in the simulation and virtual reality, system integration, the Internet of Things (IoT) industry, cyber security, cloud computing, supply chain, super data analysis and robotic automation.
All this will bring an organisation to another level in the business competition in the future. Due to this, an emphasis starts to be given to human resource development through the Technical Education and Vocational Training (TVET). TVET is seen to be among an important national agenda in education to produce highly skilled human resource at par with the demands of Industry 4.0. On the part of the Education Ministry, it introduces the change of the landscape of the higher learning education framework towards Industry 4.0 to ensure the marketability of graduates and future graduates in the job market.
Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Berhad (PSMB) was mandated by the government to administer and manage the Human Resource Development Fund or Kumpulan Wang Pembangunan Sumber Manusia (KWPSM) which is a specific fund under the Human Resources Ministry. KWPSM gives flexibility and job security to employees through the skill re-training and enhanced skills process.
Through the National Labour Human Capital Development Master Plan or Pelan Induk Pembangunan Modal Insan Tenaga Kerja Kebangsaan KWPSM (2018-2025), an emphasis parallel with the requirement of Industry 4.0 has been given. Among the main aims of the Master Plan is to empower human capital through enhanced skills, retraining skills and diversifying skills. Statistics show that until 2017, a total of 21,928 employers have registered and contributed to KWPSM involving 2,136,763 employees.
From this total number, employers from the registered manufacturing sector totalled 9,380, whereas for the service sector 12,372 employers and the mining and quarry sector 1,146 employers. The commitment from the government and organisations shows that training and development is an important investment that can change and improve human resource at present and in the future.
Neglecting the training and human resource development aspect, also the lack of awareness about its importance can make it hard for any organisation to overcome Industry 4.0 challenges. Coupled with the environmental pressure caused by Industry 4.0 covering the aspects of technology, social, economy and so on, organisational wellbeing and sustainability, human resource can surely be affected.
Studies done by industrial psychologists show that training and development play a significant role in minimising work stress caused by an uncomfortable working environment. According to researchers, only training and development can educate employees to modify their work stations to fulfill their needs and comfort.
Training and development can also minimise individual level of fatigue and tiredness. This indicates that training and development can increase the strength, flexibility and tolerance of individuals towards pain or the skills in carrying out their tasks. Other research works also illustrate how training and development can increase the motivation, work quality, health level and employees' security and productivity.
There are several factors that determine the success of the training and development program implementation namely the support of the higher management, the advancement of technology and staff commitment. Without staff commitment in following the training and development program planned, this will affect the skills that are to be developed.
Among the skills that need to be emphasised human resource training and development are critical thinking and problem-solving, communication, collaboration, creativity and emotional well-being. Among these, emotional well-being is seen to be complementary, one that will balance the requirements of Industry 4.0 with the organisation's human resource capability.
The impact of Industry 4.0 also comes in the form of emotions among the employees, especially in terms of the needs for their service, future skills and challenges of the organisational environment. Emotional well-being will facilitate the organisation in making changes and empower human resource's mental aspect to face any possibility that can arise from Industry 4.0.
The challenges of Industry 4.0 should be regarded as a paradigm shift to the efficacy and costs of the organization. Both these dimensions must be emphasised in rendering success to efficacious and effective training and development. If it is handled wisely, both these dimensions will be able to help the organisation to generally achieve competitive edge through the enhanced operational management and reduce costs.
The writer is Professor of HRM and Organisational Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times