SMEs 4.0 - Companies and employees shape the digital transition

 

The fourth industrial revolution, known as Industry 4.0, is a complex of sensor technology, virtualization and networking that poses a major challenge for companies. Both the technical requirements must be covered and the changes in the working world must be taken into account. This results in a double qualification requirement for companies: Technical innovations and requirements for personnel management must be understood and implemented. Recent studies show that SMEs in particular often lack the means to manage this digital transformation independently.

The project "KMU 4.0 - Companies and Employees shap the Digital Transformation" supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in identifying their employees' training needs and implementing suitable training measures. The employees of the companies are empowered to specifically shape the industry 4.0 trend in their companies. As part of the SME 4.0 project, a qualification concept is being developed for small and medium-sized enterprises to build up knowledge and skills. The holistic training concept comprises six qualification fields (innovation capability, digital production, digital work, organisational learning, leadership/cooperation and communication as well as workplace innovation) for shaping the digital transformation.

The project focuses on corporate learning projects for digital transformation, which are carried out at the user companies of the consortium. The insights gained on organizational learning will then be transformed into a guideline for action.