Summary
While technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) ultimately create more jobs than they take, it’s not a one-to-one transition.
How Will the Industry 5.0 Transition Impact Tech Employment?
Industry 4.0 has transformed manufacturing environments. Now that automation and data-driven workflows have become standard, though, the sector is moving again. Industry 5.0 is on the horizon, but another wave of disruption raises questions about how this one may impact workers in this field.
How Industry 5.0 is different from Industry 4.0
While Industry 4.0 centered on data technologies, Industry 5.0 aims to ensure such innovation is responsible for humans and the planet. According to the EU report that coined the term, Industry 5.0 revolves around three core concepts:
- Human-centricity
- Sustainability
- Resilience
The first of these chief tenets is the most relevant to manufacturing workforces. In the next industrial revolution, production processes will be built around human needs and interests.
Industry 5.0 seeks to deploy technology as a way to help workers and clients instead of seeing how the workforce must fit within tech adoption goals. Prioritizing human-robot collaboration over pure automation is a prime example.
The goal of resilience is also worth noting. Industry 5.0 supply chains aim to avoid and withstand disruption, including ensuring no unforeseen circumstances interfere with workers’ well-being.
How the shift to Industry 5.0 could affect employment
The shift to Industry 5.0 should be largely positive for current and prospective employees. By focusing on human-centric developments, manufacturers should foster healthier workplaces instead of sacrificing job security for efficiency. Still, the change will inevitably involve some disruption to what industrial work looks like.
While technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) ultimately create more jobs than they take, it’s not a one-to-one transition. Intensely physical and repetitive work will become less valuable and available as more strategic or technical roles expand.
Such a change is beneficial—it means lower injury risks and ensures more engaging workflows. However, it requires additional training and experience for employees from one end to fill jobs on the other.
Even in conventional, physical roles, work will be different in Industry 5.0. Employees must adapt to restructured workflows, collaborate with robots and similar technologies more heavily, and take on a higher level of leadership and responsibility.
How employees and employers can prepare
In light of these incoming changes, both employers and employees should prepare for the shift to Industry 5.0. A few key steps are necessary under that adaptation.
Pursue new skills. Because many post-Industry 5.0 roles will require different skill sets, upskilling should take priority. Businesses can provide career development opportunities to ensure a smooth transition for their workers while employees can pursue independent education to bolster their future chances.
This journey starts with recognizing which fields are most worth gaining experience in. Cybersecurity-related skills and certifications are a good option, as security needs will rise with increasing digitalization. Security analyst openings could grow by 31.2% by 2029 as part of this trend.
Other in-demand skills to pursue include data science, AI model development and robotics programming. Strategic decision-making and collaboration experience will also become increasingly valuable.
Invest in security. Industry 5.0 will involve closer human-robot collaboration, so organizations must also consider how such setups impact worker safety. They should invest in industrial cybersecurity controls. Failing to protect connected robots from hacking could endanger employees, which may dissuade people from entering the sector.
Already, 60% of young people say they wouldn’t consider an industrial job. Concerns over physically demanding work account for 40% of this aversion, and injury risks will exacerbate that obstacle.
Innovating the factory workplace while minimizing accidents will prove key to attracting and retaining workers. In a hyperdigitalized environment, that means ensuring robotic systems and connected industrial control systems are safe from intrusion.
Embrace continuous learning. Both employers and employees must recognize the need for ongoing development. Industry 5.0’s demand for resilience and the fast-moving nature of technology means what’s relevant tomorrow may not be the next day.
Just as workers take on new skills and experience to prepare for Industry 5.0, they’ll likely need to keep doing so throughout the shift. Leadership can account for this need by creating a culture of continuous learning. Such a change will drive results—100% of the 36% of organizations championing career development currently achieve positive business outcomes.
Ongoing learning is all about regularly reviewing gaps in needed skills and creating advancement opportunities for those who pursue them. Embracing this practice can prevent turnover, mitigate labor shortages and ensure an effective tech rollout.
Industry 5.0 will start a new era for jobs and automation
Industry 5.0 is mostly about making Industry 4.0 technologies more beneficial for people and the planet. However, achieving that goal will be complicated. It could create a better work environment and greater job security, but only if workers and their employers adapt ahead of time.
About The Author
Zac Amos is the features editor at ReHack, where he covers trending tech news in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. For more of his work, follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn.
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