The Industry 4.0 professional emerges to fill a gap in the new labor landscape, reshaped by technology. According to recent reports, this professional is the result of the combination of the following factors:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI);
- Additive manufacturing;
- Simulation;
- Systems integration;
- Internet of Things (IoT);
- Big Data Analytics;
- Cloud Computing;
- IT Security;
- Virtual Reality (VR).
In this context, production control can even be carried out remotely, and obsolete machines are replaced by smarter equipment. This entire structure demands new professional competencies and the need for adaptation.
Despite this, many organizations maintain outdated industrial structures and practices. According to the Industry 2027 Project, developed by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), a formal action plan for process digitization is prepared by only 15.1% of the surveyed companies.
Given all this, the question arises: how to become a professional of the future and how to prepare teams for this new paradigm? Check out the answers!
Who is the Industry 4.0 professional?
They are individuals with a multidisciplinary and flexible background, in addition to mastery of new tools, languages, and emotional competencies. They are capable of easily adapting to a new business culture and possess the social skills to perform collaborative work.
These new professionals will not perform repetitive tasks; quite the contrary. They must handle machine-to-machine (M2M) processes in a contextual and innovative way, where activities will be more complex, efficient, and creative.
What are the skills and aptitudes of this new worker?
They are flexible
Predictive maintenance, despite being scheduled, does not prevent machines from generating demands or incidents at any time of the day. This increases the need for out-of-the-ordinary actions.
Flexibility is also intrinsically tied to the possibility of employees becoming more available to the company’s core business. This is likewise the result of multitasking and increasingly efficient processes.
Thus, a network engineer, for example, besides designing projects for the efficiency and evolution of the company’s telecommunication infrastructure, will be able to dedicate themselves to IT security strategies in a multidisciplinary way and add value to the sector with their knowledge in other subjects.
Industry 4.0 has created the possibility for new roles within already familiar positions. This context allows for developing everyone’s strengths alongside technology, reshaping the roles of employees within institutions.
They have a multidisciplinary background
The Industry 4.0 professional must have skills to deal with technology, mathematics, robotics, and entrepreneurship. Furthermore, they must understand concepts of information security and law in order to handle all types of innovation.
They maintain good interpersonal relationships
Decision-making aptitudes will be a differential for the professional who can ensure social and emotional reactions within the organizational scope. All through teamwork, collaborative actions, and shared activities.
In this sense, it will be possible to deliberate through value creation and lead by example, since a multidisciplinary background allows for the execution of different functions. Furthermore, the integration among the various corporate stakeholders and available tools will facilitate the communication process.
They exhibit a sense of urgency
Implementing automated methods and robotics in companies often does not imply laying off employees, since the demand for executing strategic and monitoring tasks will grow.
The need to repair a piece of equipment, for example, must happen in a timely manner. Through integration with applications, the professional will become aware of the event and must discern the urgency of actions.
They possess a technical and systemic view of processes
The Industry 4.0 professional needs to have a technical vision, also resulting from their multidisciplinary training (competencies in electrical, mechanical, and automation engineering). In addition, they must know how to look systemically at company processes and their respective impacts.
They are able to collect and analyze a large volume of data
Another emerging skill is the ability to collect and analyze data provided by Big Data — a large volume of information gathered from various sources to make decisions, define profiles, and outline preferences. Thus, it is possible to determine how organizational strategies will be directed.
According to global consultancies, the greatest challenges for companies will center around issues such as culture, organization, leadership, and skills, rather than pre-established standards of infrastructure and intellectual property. Meanwhile, the lack of a digital culture and proper training was identified as the biggest bottleneck for companies across all segments.
Therefore, the Industry 4.0 professional needs to seek qualification, on any platform, to acquire one or more of these skills. Moreover, they should seek specialized partnerships to put innovation projects into practice.
Would you like to comment on any other essential competency to adapt to this transformation? Enrich our discussion by leaving your comment!
