Uniting Man, Machine, and Work

The fourth industrial revolution will rapidly and drastically change the content of work within the technical sector. This requires new competences from technical staff, which through research so far have only been described in very abstract ways. In the first study, we asked employers in the technical sector to indicate which competences they believe to be the most important for the technician of the future. In the second study we asked technicians to materialize these competences and explain what they require from employers to show these competences. The results show that employers are searching for technicians that are extraordinarily talented in expert knowledge, remarkably focused towards accuracy and take a proactive approach to their work. The technicians describe aspects of the competencies that are related to functioning in an ambiguous environment with ever changing priorities. Technicians therefore need a work environment and work content that constantly challenges them to learn.