Citation

Mohd Muzdar, Nur Muzdalifah and Chew, Kok Wai and Ahmad, Abdul Aziz (2022) Upskilling And Reskilling of Malaysian Manufacturing SMEs B40 And M40 Employees for Industry 4.0. In: Postgraduate Social Science Colloquium 2022, 1 - 2 June 2022, Online.

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Abstract

Background - Malaysian manufacturing SMEs are one of the largest contributors to the Malaysian economy. Currently, they are behind in terms of investing in Industry 4.0 technology. One of the factors that need to be looked into is the upskilling and reskilling of SME employees. This research aims to investigate the process of upskilling and reskilling of SMEs in Malaysia, specifically for the M40 and B40 group. It also hopes to propose a new transfer of training theory that may assist training providers as well as employers on how to prepare their employees for the upcoming technology. Purpose - The purpose of this study is to understand the process of upskilling and reskilling, the importance of overcoming the potential barriers for the upskilling and reskilling for Malaysian manufacturing SMEs B40 and M40 employees that face digital disruption in Industry 4.0. In addition, this study also aims to propose an enhanced model of transfer of training process as the framework for upskilling and reskilling for said SMEs and employees. Design/methodology/approach - Qualitative data collection technique will be used in this research. Semi structured one to one interview and focus group discussions will be conducted on relevant Malaysian manufacturing SMEs employees. The participants for the one-to-one interview will be Malaysian manufacturing SMEs human resource managers. Focus groups consisting of 5 B40 employees per group and 5 M40 employees per group from Malaysian manufacturing SMEs will be carried out. For one-to-one interviews and focus group discussions, data collection will be completed upon reaching saturation point. The transcribed interviews and focus group data will be analysed using thematic analysis. Thematic analysis is a method for identifying, analysing and reporting patterns (themes) within data (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Qualitative data analysis software namely NVivo will be used for this purpose. Findings/Expected Contributions - This study hopes to propose a new model of transfer of training that is applicable for Malaysian SMEs specifically, after taking into consideration of the process and potential barriers Malaysian SMEs encounter. Research limitations - The potential outcome of this research may only be applicable for Malaysian SMEs and B40 and M40 employees. Results may vary with different demographics. Originality/value - The new model hopefully may be able to assist employers, supervisors as well as training providers so that suitable training conditions can be provided to train employees for the upcoming Industry 4.0, as there are not many literatures specifically focused on Malaysian SMEs.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Training, Industry 4.0, Manufacturing SMEs, Upskilling and Reskilling
Subjects:	T Technology > T Technology (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Management (FOM)
Depositing User:	Ms Rosnani Abd Wahab
Date Deposited:	16 Aug 2022 06:16
Last Modified:	16 Aug 2022 06:16
URII:	http://shdl.mmu.edu.my/id/eprint/10400

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