Manufacturers’ workforce needs upskilling, reskilling to improve productivity
05 Oct 2021
Technology advancement does not automatically replace existing jobs as upskilling and reskilling are required for manufacturers to equip their workforce with specific skills to enhance their manufacturing capability to improve productivity, Western Digital senior vice president of global flash back-end operations KL Bock said.
He said the new technological approach to Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) has diverse applications in many industries.
“However, the approach is how manufacturers implement the IR4.0 and we need to prepare our workforce with upskilling and reskilling programmes to equip themselves better,” he said at the virtual press conference by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) and WD on World Economic Forum (WEF) Industry 4.0 Recognition on Tuesday.
He said Malaysia’s education system also needed to change and adapt to IR4.0 including the curriculum and core subject, so that students could embrace this new technology, provided with the right infrastructure and content.
“The accelerated adoption and adaption of IR4.0 and eventually, the IR5.0 technology, would be imperative and a critical success factor going forward for Western Digital’s transformative effort.
“We also encourage other industries captains to continue investing in IR4.0 technology, leveraging their respective industry key enablers to transform the landscape in Malaysia,” he said.
Bock said Western Digital’s factory in Batu Kawan Industrial Park, Penang has been recognised as the latest entrant to the World WEF’s Global Lighthouse Network, the first company to receive this distinction in Malaysia out of the 90 total sites within the Lighthouse Network.
“It took us three and a half years, as we were required to showcase transformational stories to demonstrate advanced technology with significant operational and financial, as well as sustainability impact.
“We are happy to accelerate the IR4.0 to a scale and impactful stage…the future looks promising despite many challenges,” he added.
The Global Lighthouse Network is a community of world-leading companies that have succeeded in the adaptation of the IR4.0 technologies at scale.
Source: Bernama
