Cooperative Development of a Technical, Entrepreneurial Mindset in Manufacturing

This study focuses on the importance of developing technical and entrepreneurial capabilities to support the digital transformations in manufacturing, known as Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0. Digital transformation creates new business opportunities through product and service development that demand new skills and capabilities from the workforce, such as analytical ability, problem-solving, ideation and innovation. However, these skills are not usually found in the manufacturing operators but are more closely associated with entrepreneurs. The study proposes a cooperative learning approach to address this challenge that combines domain-specific technical skills (such as monitoring manufacturing data, programming, data analysis, and automation) with entrepreneurial skills. The approach aims to upgrade digital and entrepreneurial skills by co-designing learning programmes with industry stakeholders. Insights gained can be used to develop workforce capabilities and promote digital transformation. The proposed concept involves collaboration between stakeholders in digitised manufacturing to build workforce capabilities. The goal is to generate a shared understanding of skill-building and learning programmes and to create a new foundation for decision-making. This study highlights the need to combine core technical and contextual entrepreneurial skills to support industrial digitalisation and prepare the manufacturing workforce for new challenges. By adopting a cooperative learning approach, stakeholders can develop learning activities that enhance the workforce’s digital capabilities, creating a more agile and responsive manufacturing industry.