The study investigates the experiences of engineering managers in the manufacturing industry as they adopt the innovative technologies of the industry 4.0. The knowledge, competencies and attributes that would be required by engineering managers to effectively address the challenges faced by engineering managers in adapting to the industry 4.0 will be explored. The research study identified gaps in competencies and qualification strategies were suggested. The focus was on the competence gaps since those determine the skills and knowledge that engineering managers will require to be able to cope with the challenges brought by the evolution within the engineering manufacturing industry and to effectively develop a culture that supports innovation in the manufacturing industry.
Semi structured interviews were conducted with key participants identified in organisations. These took place using appropriate online platforms. The sample size was eleven engineering managers from various organizations within the manufacturing industry at different stages of implementation of industry 4.0. The composition of the participants included those from the food industry, construction industry, energy industry, electrical industry, chemical industry, automotive, textile and clothing industry and consumer goods industry. The selected research methodology was the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach which allowed respondents to narrate the research findings through their experiences. The research questions were as follows: 1. How do engineering managers experience the changing requirements in manufacturing to meet the needs of industry 4.0? and 2. What are the skills, knowledge and competencies required by engineering managers in the manufacturing sector to meet the needs of engineering management in the industry 4.0?
The study recommends training and development that can be implemented to ensure that engineering managers have the required competencies for the industry 4.0. This was done in three vital steps, namely: identification of emerging challenges faced by engineering managers due to the changes in the manufacturing industry from the experiences of engineering managers in this industry, draw conclusions from the experiences of engineering to suggest the competencies necessary to face these challenges and the visualization of the required competencies.