Requirements of human resource in vietnam mechanical industry in the context of industry 4.0

reaking 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]. 282 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 283 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 284 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 285 “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 286 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 287 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. 288 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 289 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]. 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 Modern Workplace Learning Value Learning Learning from information, Resources Learning supporting productivity and job performance as part of daily working with others in teams and groups through sharing of knowledge and experiences Social Collaboration Personal Learning individually as experiences in and using the Web Professional networking keeping up to date, etc through the Workplace, part of daily self-improvement Coureses Learning from instruction Scheduled On demand continuous Autonomy 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. REFERENCES 1.Abele et al. 2017, Learning factories for future oriented research and education in manufacturing. 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