Twenty-First Century Competencies; about Competencies for Industry 5.0 and the Opportunities for Emerging Economies

The philosophy of Industry 5.0 recognises the transformative power of the industrial sector to add value to society and employees. Industry 5.0 is distinct from its predecessors because it relies on a tripod of sustainability, human centricity, and resilience. These three thematic principles aim to improve work safety, research, and innovation and strengthen industrial resilience and competitiveness. However, a perfect storm is brewing for the future of work, brought about by the concerning trends of displacement and low skill levels of workers’ competencies in handling the new technologies of Industry 5.0 in emerging economies. This conceptual paper will describe Industry 5.0 and provide historical insights on the importance of acquiring the desired twenty-first-century competencies needed in the workforce for Industry 5.0 and how these competencies can be cultivated. Two research questions guided the study in identifying these twenty-first-century competencies, how these competencies can be cultivated and taught in the education curriculum and policies of emerging economies, and the crucial importance of adapting Industry 5.0 to these emerging economies. The study concluded that emerging economies must play an active role in shaping the future by creating policies that will advance social stability, resource preservation, and climate objectives, which will enable more productive production processes with lower waste and energy usage.