Multilevel comprehension for labor market inclusion: a qualitative study on experts' perspectives on Industry 4.0 competences

Purpose Given the exponential and massive technological disruption in work that Industry 4.0 will lead to, nowadays, authors and practitioners within the field of education and training are witnessing increased attention on the features of and threats to employability and integration in current labor transformations. The purpose of this paper is to address current education and training challenges as related to the fourth industrial revolution by investigating which skills and competences will be crucial for the 4.0 era. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative field study with semi-structured interviews has been conducted. Qualitative data on a sample of N = 16 vocational training experts has been analyzed via the grounded theory approach for a bottom-up perspective on Industry 4.0 competences. Findings Data analysis revealed a partial consensus between current scientific literature and practitioners' views on skills and competences for Industry 4.0. Indeed, practioners support the need for a mix of competences comprising the broad group of disciplines of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), technical skills and transversal competences. Moreover, the perspective of practitioners supports a multilevel comprehension of the needs of Industry 4.0 for education and training. Drawing on these findings, an evaluation tool for an applied field intervention for inclusion in the labor market is proposed. Originality/value The paper advances current knowledge within the field of education and training by proposing a novel perspective to address market integration as a means to tackle the risk of technological disruption.