Understand and Assess IT Skills Gaps for Industry 4.0 & 5.0
Implement a strategic approach to skills development and acquisition to capitalize on the benefits of Industry 4.0 & 5.0.
- You face a shortage of employees skilled in critical areas like AI, IoT, digital technologies, and big data analytics.
- You are challenged by the need to balance technical expertise with soft skills like creativity, ethical AI use, and emotional intelligence, demanded by Industry 5.0’s human-machine collaboration focus.
- Resource allocation constraints such as limited budgets and competing priorities make it difficult to invest in reskilling and continuous learning platforms.
- You contend with high competition for skilled professionals, which leads to retention challenges and exacerbates the skill shortages within your organization.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
Organizations investing in technical reskilling programs outperform peers in adopting Industry 4.0 and 5.0 technologies. A precise alignment between workforce capabilities and technological requirements can give manufacturers a sustainable competitive edge in dynamic market environments.
Impact and Result
Info-Tech recognizes the role of CIOs in preparing manufacturers for Industry 4.0 and 5.0. This research aims to provide actionable insights into IT skills gaps for Industry 4.0 and 5.0, by identifying critical skill areas, proposing scalable solutions, and highlighting the importance of adaptability in workforce development.
Understand and Assess IT Skills Gaps for Industry 4.0 & 5.0
Implement a strategic approach to skills development and acquisition to capitalize on the benefits of Industry 4.0 & 5.0.
Analyst Perspective
Implement a strategic approach to skills development and acquisition to capitalize on the benefits of Industry 4.0 & 5.0.
Industry 4.0 is driven by automation, IoT, big data, and advanced robotics, while Industry 5.0 aims to humanize technology, promoting collaboration between humans and machines through artificial intelligence, ethical AI, and sustainable practices. Both approaches have ushered in a new era of smart manufacturing, demanding highly technical skill sets. These transformative advancements have also exposed critical gaps in the workforce's IT skills. Understanding and addressing these gaps is an organizational imperative central to navigating this complex industrial transformation.
The convergence of digitalization and human-centric technologies has redefined the skills landscape, requiring proficiency in data analytics, cybersecurity, digital technologies, and human-robot interaction. However, traditional hiring and upskilling practices have failed to keep pace with the velocity of technological change, leaving manufacturers grappling with a mismatch between available skills and emerging needs. This research aims to delve deep into these gaps, analyzing the underlying causes, identifying the most critical skills deficits, and exploring interventions to bridge them.
A significant challenge lies in the philosophies of Industry 4.0 and 5.0, where Industry 4.0 prioritizes technical acumen, and Industry 5.0 introduces a more nuanced skill set that includes creativity, ethical decision-making, and emotional intelligence alongside technical expertise. These shifts necessitate a holistic approach that not only identifies existing IT skill shortages but also anticipates future demands.
Shreyas Shukla
Principal Research Director, Manufacturing Industry Practice
Info-Tech Research Group
Executive Summary
| Your Challenge | Common Obstacles | Info-Tech's Approach |
|
You face a shortage of employees skilled in critical areas like AI, IoT, digital technologies, and big data analytics. You need to balance technical expertise with soft skills such as creativity, ethical AI use, and emotional intelligence demanded by Industry 5.0's human-machine collaboration focus. Resource allocation constraints such as limited budgets and competing priorities make it difficult to invest in reskilling and continuous learning platforms. You contend with high competition for skilled professionals, which leads to retention challenges and exacerbates the skill shortages within your organization. |
Existing training programs and infrastructure fail to meet the broad and diverse skill development needs of a modern manufacturing workforce. Fear of automation and AI leads to resistance to change hindering adoption of new skills and technologies. Limited collaboration between industry and academia leads to a disconnect between workforce education and the actual skill demands of modern manufacturing environments. The unpredictable nature of technological advancements makes it challenging to anticipate future training/skilling needs effectively. |
Info-Tech recognizes the role of CIOs in preparing manufacturers for Industry 4.0 and 5.0. This research aims to provide actionable insights into IT skills gaps for Industry 4.0 and 5.0, by identifying critical skill areas, proposing scalable solutions, and highlighting the importance of adaptability in workforce development. Info-Tech will provide:
|
Organizations investing in technical reskilling programs outperform peers in adopting Industry 4.0 and 5.0 technologies. A precise alignment between workforce capabilities and technological requirements can give manufacturers a sustainable competitive edge in dynamic market environments.
Global manufacturing output has been stagnating
Global manufacturing output peaked after the outbreak of Covid-19 but has been steadily trending downward since. The existing rate of growth in the sector is driven by the performance of electronics, automotive, pharmaceutical, and chemical manufacturers, while growth has slowed for manufacturers of non-durables such as furniture, beverages, wood products, and non-metallic mineral products.
Industrial production growth worldwide 2019-2024, by region indicates stagnation over the recent two-year period.
Source: "Global Industrial Production Growth," Statista, 2024.
Quarter-on-quarter growth numbers signal a modest acceleration.
~1% growth rate quarter-over-quarter growth rate of global manufacturing production
Source: "Quarterly Report Q2 2024," UNIDO, 2024.
Year-on-year growth numbers signal a significant slowdown, especially in developed economies.
~21 percentage point drop in growth rate "the year-over-year pace of growth slowed from 41.3% in September 2023 to 20.5% in September 2024."
Source: "2025 Manufacturing Industry Outlook," Deloitte, 2024.
Obstacles prevent manufacturers from achieving growth
A variety of external and internal obstacles are disrupting manufacturing operations. Inflation, cyberattacks and workforce issues continue to dampen growth in the manufacturing sector.
Obstacles prevent manufacturers from achieving growth.
| External obstacles | Internal obstacles |
|---|---|
| Inflation | Attracting skilled workforce |
| Rising energy costs | Using new technology |
| Cyber attacks | Lower budgets |
| Skilled worker shortage | Quality vs. growth decisions |
| Supply chain disruption | Effective data use |
Source: Rockwell Automation, 2024.
Workforce issues have a major impact on production, logistics, and planned transformation initiatives.
"60%
Manufacturers face workforce issues
"…nearly 60% of manufacturers in the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) outlook survey for the third quarter of 2024 cited the inability to attract and retain employees as their top challenge."
Source: "2025 Manufacturing Industry Outlook," Deloitte, 2024.
48%
Manufacturers say lack of skills is a top technology challenge
"…48% of manufacturing organizations report that the lack of digital skills is a top technology challenge, which is preventing companies from advancing their digital initiatives and driving business transformation."
Source: IFS, 2024.
About Info-Tech
Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.
We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.
What Is a Blueprint?
A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.
Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.
Talk to an Analyst
Our analyst calls are focused on helping our members use the research we produce, and our experts will guide you to successful project completion.
Book an Analyst Call on This Topic
You can start as early as tomorrow morning. Our analysts will explain the process during your first call.
Get Advice From a Subject Matter Expert
Each call will focus on explaining the material and helping you to plan your project, interpret and analyze the results of each project step, and set the direction for your next project step.
Unlock Sample ResearchContributors
- Sriram Iyer, Independent Expert
- Ramji Mani, Bristlecone
- Maria Smith, Independent Expert
- Shaheen D, Independent Expert
- Jasmine Choi, Komstadt Systems
- 2 anonymous sources