Building the Workforce of Tomorrow: A Systematic Literature Review of the Essential Skills for the Future Industrial Landscape

The fourth and fifth industrial revolutions have significantly transformed manufacturing, introducing new perspectives and foundational beliefs, particularly in promoting sustainable manufacturing practices. This shift requires rethinking the competences and decision-making processes that workers must have to work in the new environment. To help students in being competitive on the job market, educational institutions must align their educational programs to address the new requirements. Thus, this research aims to identify the skills that future workers must have to be appealing for companies that want to operate in an environmentally conscious and socially responsible industrial landscape. To do so, a systematic review of existing literature was carried out. To offer a complete overview of the evolution of the competencies and identify important trends, the study tracked the frequency of citations for skills over time. These skills can be taught through learning factories, which can be used to provide students with practical applications of theoretical knowledge, ensuring that learned competencies are not only theoretical but also practical and applicable in real-world scenarios. This research offers valuable insights into the evolving debate on skills, which can be useful for the development of educational programs, learning activities and targeted training initiatives for workers.