Requirements of human resource in Vietnam mechanical industry in the context of industry 4.0
REQUIREMENTS OF HUMAN RESOURCE IN VIETNAM MECHANICAL
INDUSTRY IN THE CONTEXT OF INDUSTRY 4.0
Vu Hong Van
Thai Nguyen University of Technology
Abstract
The fourth industrial revolution is different from other industrial revolutions in speed,
scope and influence to many aspects of life. It brings mass difference in manufacturing
process and requires the mechanical industry change in human resource. Industry 4.0 is
expected to lift people from the production lines, also creates a breaking by supplying chance
for the development of each individual with support of information, knowledge and new
technology. Mechanical human resource in Vietnam with low quality, weak soft skills and
low flexibility is hindering the development and integration of the mechanical industry in the
new stage. New requirement of knowledge and skills for Vietnamese mechanical engineers in
an age of smart manufacturing is to improve the efficiency, quality, and utilization of
operation in modern mechanical factories.
Key words: human resource, mechanical industry, Industry 4.0, requirement, skills.
1. Introduction
There are about 3.600 mechanical enterprises in Vietnam with the total output over
VND 1.100.000 billion, of which VND 400.000 billion came from domestic engineering,
with more than 500 types of products such as machine tools, electric motors and metal
products. We guaranteed 35% of domestic demand and 30% for export. In fact, if the
domestic mechanical companies develop, occupy the domestic market, exporting will make a
big revenue. At present, the output of mechanical engineering accounts for only 22% of the
total industrial production value, while investment capital accounts for more than 16% and
the labor force accounts for 12% with over 500,000 employees. Industry of mechanical
engineering, which acts as the basis for production system in any country that reached the
industrialization stage, undergoes the drastic changes, caused by internationalization of
production and capital, world market globalization and multiple aggravation of competition.
Re-orientation of mechanical engineering sector to intensive and advance way of
development is required, what assumes necessity to solve a complex of accumulated
interrelated and interdependent problems in legislative, legal and regulatory, financial and
economic, educational and personnel areas [6].
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Industry is facing a historic turning point. In industry 4.0, people, machines and
products communicate with one another via the internet. This means the convergence of
industry and Internet technology [16].
A dynamic era of change in the world of work will introduce Industrial Revolution 4.0,
which will be shaped by a range of new technologies and innovations that bring us driverless
cars, smart robots, Virtual Reality (VR) for the digital world, the Internet of Things (IoT),
connected devices, artificial intelligence (AI) and 3D printing. It really brings challenges but
also opportunities. The challenge is that businesses do not change and do not catch up with
technology will be eliminated, and many workers lacked tech-oriented skills in mechanical
industry will face the possibility of losing their jobs in the next few years. In the factory,
engineers need to be able to design, make the production process and technicians who are
capable of controlling high-tech machines.
Industry 4.0 offers mechanical engineering the opportunity to expand their
competitiveness further. Digitizing the value chain means a change to the mechanical
engineering industry. The potential of Industry 4.0 is enormous due to the worldwide
networking of machines, warehouse systems and operating equipment as CPS that mean new
smart factories. Connectivity is the key to any Data-Driven Manufacturing implementation.
This means companies must find a way to get every machine talking to the corporate
network, and to do so securely, using standards-based technology.
Industry 4.0 solutions improve the efficiency, quality, and utilization of factory
operations. Modern machines allow companies to exploit the potential of digitalization in
their production facilities and to unlock new business fields. The mechanical engineering
sector have to know how new technologies can be successfully integrated for the benefit of
the customer. Production processes and supply chains will become more efficient, with
advances in productivity and huge savings in time, material and energy. Everything in and
around a manufacturing operation is digitally connected, providing a highly integrated value
chain [9]. Then, requirements for mechanical human resource change enormously.
2. Influence of the fourth industrial evolution in mechanical industry
The key components that allow Industry 4.0 to come to life are:
Cyber-Physical Systems: are electro-mechanical devices with connectivity and digital
communication capabilities.
Internet of Things (IoT): is the network of physical objects that use sensors to capture
data and embedded connectivity to exchange it over the internet. Typically, the Internet of
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Things refers to consumers’ products which are often not equipped with actuators (as a
Cyber-Physical System)
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT): is the declination of Internet of Things to the
manufacturing world.
Internet of Services: refers to the usage and combination of IoT devices and
applications to provide services to end users and to other components of the ecosystem.
The manufacturing industry has always focused on building out lean processes.
Consumers want things faster, cheaper, and expect better quality than ever before. So, it
keeps operators on their toes leaving them to ask: how do I build a product with the highest
throughput, lowest cost, least amount of material and fastest cycle time? The World
Economic Forum forecast by 2020, more than one-third of workers will need skills they don’t
now have. While necessary talents can vary, 36% of business jobs will require “complex
problem solving” as a core skill.
The other drivers of the Industry 4.0 trend will be Government support, data analytics
and economic management. Vietnam’s workforce needs to be ready to learn and step into the
Industry 4.0 era. The best way to approach the 4.0 revolution is to do it in small steps, starting
with a strategy or a pilot project.
The small and simple steps need to be taken immediately. Human resources will be a
key driver in manufacturing companies becoming Industry 4.0 players. Investing in human
resources should be considered the most important task for local manufacturers in addition to
fostering technical innovation and enhancing co-operation among businesses to maximize
efficiency and avoid overlapping investments, Thu said. A number of Vietnamese businesses,
especially those in the automobile, agricultural machinery and design industries, have moving
to Industry 4.0 with efficient investments in technological innovation. The fourth revolution
creates the “smart factory” by “impactful orchestration of emerging technologies including
the Internet of Things, the Cloud, Analytics, Robotics, 3D printing and Artificial Intelligence.
Industry 4.0 instead, focuses on smart equipment, that can interact together and make real-
time, expert and aware, decisions. Those smart equipment, integrated, work together to give
life to smart factories. The number of workers will decrease significantly due to the support of
advanced technology and automation in the manufacturing process. The role of mechanical
engineers will not only be crucial in the smart factory, it will expand and encompass a
diversity of task and roles that may differ from the traditional job descriptions in the field
today. However, the point in favor of mechanical engineers is that it will continue to take a
very good understanding of the physical objects, processes and systems to transform them
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into their digital alter-egos or avatars, capture crucial data points and develop algorithms for
implementation and control.
The fourth industrial revolution marks the move away from automated factory
processes to intelligent, integrated digital systems that are transforming the way we work. In
this revolution, the robots are not taking away jobs. Instead, they are creating new jobs, and
changing the nature of those that already exist: the World Economic Forum estimates that by
2020 more than a third of core skills required by occupations will have changed.
This presents a huge opportunity for manufacturing, but also an enormous challenge:
globally the industry is already facing a skills gap. In the US alone, between now and 2025
nearly three and half million manufacturing job vacancies will be created. While 700,000 of
these are estimated to be newly-created roles, 2.7 million will be created due to retirements.
The World Economic Forum report suggests regular reviews of school curricula to make sure
they meet the demands of the ever-changing workplace. Likewise, the public needs to be
informed about the nature of the modern workplace, and that the work available in
manufacturing is not the undesirable blue-collar roles of old, but the highly skilled and
rewarding new collar roles. The currency of Vietnam's mechanical industry has not met the
demand for industrialization of the 4.0 industry due to its lack of technological know-how,
weak industrial behavior and limited flexibility. The rapidly changing nature of the
workplace also means lifelong learning matters more than ever before.
3. Requirements for mechanical engineers in the industrial revolution 4.0
3.1.Transform HR to meet the needs of the fourth industrial revolution
The Fourth Industrial Revolution– where true digital transformation propels the
business-will require HR leadership to make it truly successful. Here are five actions HR can
take to prepare:
Build an agile organization structure. Use this structure as the foundation for building
focused teams afforded the time, space and resources necessary to achieve success in creating
a digital workplace. The traditional hierarchical model will not provide the flexibility or
empowerment needed to support rapid decision making and appropriate levels of risk taking.
Acknowledge that transformation is an investment that can’t easily be assessed through
traditional cost-benefit analysis.
Develop a flexible workforce. The human resource of each organization has to adapt
quickly to change and to shift their skills from a fixed function to constantly changing models
for meeting business objectives. Think less in terms of “jobs” or “positions” and more about
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“capabilities.” Create a recruiting strategy focused on recognizing the ability to adapt and
change more than on textbook knowledge.
Embrace continual learning, assessment and adjustment of capabilities. This should be
the new norm for your workforce-operating in a constant state of flux. Profitable management
of capabilities will require an agile training program, with tracking and measurement of
individual success. High turnover may actually turn out to be a valuable metric in this
capabilities-driven workforce.
Create a modern technology infrastructure and strategy. Managers will want to spend
less time administering, creating, and maintaining complex rules and platforms and more
time enabling success across business units. Help the entire organization to predict and
manage based on future needs.
Engage with others who are future focused. Seek out and collaborate with those within
the organization who challenge ideas and are disruptive creators. Requires engineers capable
of designing technology, mastering advanced technology and operating mechatronics
skilledly in manufacturing procedure.
3.2. Must-have skills for mechanical engineers
In the wave of the 4.0 industrial revolution with the digital shift and the trend of
connecting everything, the ASEAN community and developed countries all need high quality
human resources that can use language externally, professional qualifications and
occupational skills [14].
Identifying the skills for mechanical engineers. Find out about the skillset in the
workforce and what the company lacks. In Vietnam, they are problem-solving, team-
working, decision-making, flexible-changing and adaptation to the production based on
technology. Look to harness new digital skills amongst current employees and look for these
skills when recruiting for new employees. As the digital world progresses, demand for
employees with strong tech, SEO, digital content and visual designer skills will grow. HR
managers need to be aware of specific roles that businesses across the country are struggling
to fill so they can train current employees now.
Asking yourself “Are you digitally-focused? Look at the technology that is used in
the workplace daily, printers, computers, and smartphones and ask employees if they know
how to use these gadgets and tech items. Perhaps it’s time to invest in trialing new
technologies and pave way for how your organization may work in the future.
Networking and interacting. Companies are changing the way they communicate with
internal teams, colleagues, worker and external clients, therefore workplaces should invest in
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new forms of communication and collaboration in order to give the management the
necessary tools to coordinate virtual teams [18].
With more choosing to work remotely, a stronger interaction between HR, manager,
and employees is required to ensure high levels of productivity and creativity – keeping
everyone engaged and connected.
Emerging technology breakthroughs are now occurring more than ever, the Fourth
Industrial Revolution will bring with it technological advancements that allow robots to
perform many tasks faster and more efficiently than humans currently do daily. HR need to
increase their employees technological capabilities, train your human workforce so they
expand their skillset - as well as their management, creativity and emotional intellect which
robots will not be able to imitate. The only caveat for any individual aspiring to work in this
area is to stay open eyed, open minded and alert to the changes in this field which are almost
overwhelming owing to rapid technological progress
On the whole the learning process will be as evolutionary as the changes in industry
itself and mechanical engineers with strong fundamentals and applied knowledge of IoT,
Clouds, Cyber Physical Systems, AI and Automation are open to a sea of opportunities in
revolutionizing a field that has traditionally been theirs and is very likely to continue to do so.
With the ubiquity of ‘smart’ products in our daily lives, it’s not surprising that the ways
in which products are developed and delivered to the market are also increasingly
interconnected and intelligent. Below ideas on 4 skills that will help engineers compete and
deliver in an age of smart manufacturing:
Systems thinking: In an environment wherein one can reduce manufacturing costs,
quality issues, and cycle times using insights from various sub-systems across the value
chain, the most valuable workers will be those who can instinctively make decisions, identify
issues and generate ideas with an understanding of the entire ecosystem of new technologies,
processes and data sources
Data savviness: when smart manufacturing becomes widely adopted, all workers
would essentially become ‘knowledge workers’, making decisions, finding and characterizing
problems based on data. That being said, analyzing data without taking the practical context
into account is quite the myopic approach. The best decision-makers and problem-solvers are
those who leverage data alongside practical experience and an in-depth understanding of how
a system works.
Collaboration and communication: With staff freed up from routine mechanical
tasks, there will be more room for creative thinking and intensifying competition in product
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innovation. To reap the rewards of smart manufacturing, companies must more than ever
facilitate peer interactions that fuel innovation. The shift away from ‘hands-on’ physical tasks
likely also means that remote working scenarios will become even more ubiquitous, requiring
workers to have more and different collaboration and communication skills.
Adaptability: With evolving technologies constantly impacting the way people work
(or have to work), continuous training and a willingness to learn and change will be required
of all workers. Not surprisingly, getting staff to accept change seems to be the first and most
important hurdle to overcome when rolling out smart manufacturing efforts.
It is also necessary to mention here that the skill-set of a large number of those
currently employed in the workforce are not adequate to deal with the changes that
digitization will bring and re-skilling is the need of the hour. Also, academia has not yet risen
to the challenge, offering degrees and specializations in silos instead of creating a truly
multidisciplinary educational course (Mechantronics Engineering, a sub field in mechanical
engineering has gained popularity and although it broadly encompasses the fundamentals for
designing intelligent devices and systems, it is not wholly adequate for grasping Industry 4.0
which lies at the intersection of computing, electronics, mechanics and business). In that
sense, no graduates of any particular discipline with limited core skills are well prepared for
Industry 4.0 and thus mechanical engineers at no disadvantage compared to the others. But
since a study of manufacturing comprises a substantial and fundamental part of their
coursework, one is well equipped with a number of key skills and concepts. Design
Engineering, Industrial Design, Operations Research and Manufacturing Processes are at the
forefront of fields rapidly evolving with time and industry best practices.
At this point, it is also important to have a look at what kind of skills can be provided in
an engineering academic context and those that will be most useful with the advent of
Industry 4.0. Usually, the specific and teachable scientific and technical abilities, that can be
defined and measured and, that are related to the specific education one has received,
constituted the hard skills. For example, typical hard skills of a mechanical engineer are
represented by numerical and higher mathematical knowledge; problem solving, creativity
and design skills; investigative and experimental skills, information processing, computer
programming, and knowledge of specific software tools. Moreover, a mechanical engineer
should have other particular hard skills, including a strong understanding of industry
standards, and comfort working with computers, because much time is spent designing,
simulating, and testing products and/or processes.
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By contrast, soft skills are less tangible but not less important. Again, with reference to
mechanical engineering, important soft skills are represented by strong analytical thinking,
communication skills, teamwork and leadership skills. Nowadays, another category of skills,
the digital skills, is emerging and it is facing with academia and industrial world. Digital
skills comprise all skills related to digital world from the basic digital literacy skills to the
digital skills for the general workforce, till the specific digital skills for the ICT professionals.
The basic digital literacy skills are needed by every citizen to become “digitally literate”.
These are the skills needed to carry out basic functions such as using digital applications to
communicate and carry out basic Internet searches. The digital skills for the general
workforce considers all of the basic skills plus the skills needed in a workplace and generally
linked to the use of applications developed by IT specialists. While the digital skills needed
by the workforce are likely to differ across sectors, there will be some minimum
requirements linked to processing information that will be applicable across all sectors. The
third category considers the digital skills for ICT professions which comprise all of the
previous two categories, plus skills needed to work across the diverse ICT sector. They also
include digital skills linked to the development of new digital technologies, and new products
and services [4].
All of these in function of the consideration that, the main important asset of the
Industry 4.0 framework is people. In fact, the workforce represents a critical component of
the digital business transformation. And above all we must not forget that actually, culture
and education are the main keys on which to leverage for promoting awareness and
knowledge of these issues.
In Industry 4.0, this way of learning seems to be challenged due to more specialized
work and fewer employees doing the same type of work. Fewer people and more physical
distance between each person results in new work organizations. This implies the need for
novel learning systems i.e. in the form of supervision, guidance and collaborative learning;
synchronous and/or asynchronous, mediated through ICT tools. ICT tools make it possible to
develop new learning methodologies, throughout the spectrum from lifelong learning to
campus students. The use of modern ICT opens new potentials for on-the-job, individual
workplace learning, from more or less primitive e-learning schemes to advanced serious
games [3].
Formal learning plays currently only a minor part in workplace learning, a norm is that
about 80% of workplace learning is informal. Research shows that ICT supported learning
will not make the teacher obsolete. ICT can boost more effective and efficient learning
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processes, but not without support. Learning activities as social interactions guided by a
teacher, has had the greatest impact on learning outcome, significantly bigger than other
methods [10].
There is, however, still a need for social and practical training and technology is not a
substitute for this, but a range of different tools that can enhance learning and increase
learning space. The ability to collaborate is highly acknowledged and wanted by employers,
therefore teamwork and communication must be facilitated in forthcoming work place
learning paradigms.
Abele et al. [1] has been working on a learning factory morphology, and the focus is on
practice-oriented learning processes, but the effects on learning outcome and best didactical
approaches are not well mapped yet. Another debate is whether learning factories are
focusing too much on efficiency, as in reducing production costs, rather than human needs
and demands in the manufacturing systems [7].
Modern Workplace Learning
Value
Learning
individually as
part of daily
experiences in
the Workplace,
through
Learning
as part of daily
self-improvement
and using the Web
working with others
in teams and groups
through sharing of
Professional networking
keeping up to date, etc
Learning
from information,
supporting
knowledge and
experiences
productivity and
job performance
Personal
Learning
Social
Collaboration
Learning from
instruction
Resources
Coureses
Autonomy
Scheduled
On demand
continuous
Figure 1. The Modern Workplace Learning Framework [17].
Jane Hart emphasizes the importance of management support to personal learning
rather than management control of learning activities [5]. One conclusion from this work was
290
that modern learning is different from traditional learning in many ways as it is: continuous,
on demand, takes place in short bursts and on the go and in the flow of work. Furthermore, it
is social, serendipitous, autonomous and personal performance-oriented.
Transition of mechanical engineering production to innovative phase of development
also directly depends on qualitative and quantitative characteristics of specialists, working in
the industry. More than two thirds of employers state about increased demand for personnel
of new kind and profile; requirements to professional qualification grow. The increased
demand in specialists of a new kind is related to modernization of equipment and
technologies, expansion of production volumes, range of manufactured products and new
markets conquering. The situation in the industry determines the innovative approaches to
organization of personnel training for mechanical engineering enterprises objectively.
As economy development has an advance nature, technological changes hinder the
prediction development of demand for personnel and competencies, the demographic
problems cannot be left unmentioned. It is also important to note an intensified skewness
towards higher education and lack of qualified workforce, the gap between the structure of
specialists training and labor market structure is increasing, and the prestige of blue-collar
professions in the mechanical engineering sector is falling. Employers make steep demands
to graduates, and the turnover of personnel increases.
Market uncertainty, dynamism of social and cultural formation of the time, increased
requirements to knowledge level in society now results in “ageing” of engineering and
technical personnel of the national industrial complex. Qualification and knowledge level of
the working people lags behind the contemporary requirements of knowledge-intensive
technologies [15].
Reorganization of relations is required not only between enterprises and professional
education institutions, but among professional education institutions of different level.
Today it is impossible to solve the problem without social partnership in the area of
professional education, the key role in its development we give to employers who should
fulfill the functions in the company.
The approach can be summarized in the following points: Virtual classrooms, opening
for unsynchronized social learning. Learning paradigms bridging formal and informal
learning; Futhermore, adaptive learning and individually tailored learning path, pace and
evaluation; Active and continuous career planning and management by and for individuals.
Use of learning factories for synchronized social learning; Formation of priorities for on-the-
job training; Raising the funds and control their spending.
291
4. Conclusion
Knowledge is the key for adding value as a result of fundamental research and
education knowledge will drive technologies towards technical innovations and produce
complex products with efficient processes. The qualification of workforce for mechanical
manufacturing depends on the education system and facilities for manufacturing.
In view of changes in the fourth industrial revolution, mechanical engineers in Vietnam
need to be well trained, highly and multi skilled. Innovation is an extremely important issue
for success in mechanical engineering. It often supports clear market position and
differentiation among competitors. The article emphasizes the role of informal learning for
mechanical engineers and workers in the organization with modern workplace learning to get
knowledge and skills. It helps them adapt to drastic changes in Industrial 4.0 and be suitable
with conditions in Vietnamese mechanical factories.
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