Strategically aligning human resources skills in preparation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Abstract

Preparing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is imperative to facilitate the survival of businesses through effective manpower planning. Layoffs, in a country tormented by escalating unemployment, will be futile and will exacerbate the already unsurmountable unemployment problem. The obvious action is to prevent the loss of social capital and for human resource (HR) managers to upskill employees and find the right skills for the job in an effort to align HR skills required with the new opportunities that 4IR will bring to the workplace. The 4IR is at the doorstep of business. Those businesses that do not prepare adequately for it will face dramatic consequences. There is a paucity of research providing guidelines and strategies that businesses can consider and adopt in efforts to plan for the 4IR climate. This study, therefore, assesses the activities that HR managers, especially in businesses in developing countries, can adopt and engage in order to guide the organisation to have the appropriate skills and talent to transition into the 4IR work environment. The study adopts a grounded theory approach to explore what is needed to achieve a sustainable 4IR. It provides HR professionals with insight into the 4IR skills alignment framework, digital skills and competencies needed in the 4IR and recommendations to enable practitioners to effectively prepare for the 4IR (Adams, 2006; South African Board for People Practices [SABPP], 2012). HR managers play a pivotal role in predicting future changes that affect the workforce and in guiding the organisation to transition from a values-driven standpoint.