Influence of Investment in Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Technologies on Employment in Tanzania Manufacturing Sector

The study assessed the influence of investment in 4IR technologies on employment in the manufacturing sector in Tanzania. Specifically, the study set out to establish the relationship and causality of investment in 4IR technologies on employment in the manufacturing sector. To achieve the research objectives, the study used a quantitative descriptive design to generate the required data. Moreover, the study used structured questionnaires for the cross-sectional survey, administered with 225 production managers of manufacturing industries in Tanzania. It used probability sampling in the form of cluster sampling. Additionally, the study used Pearson correlation and Ordinary Least Square methods to analyse the objectives of the study. This study has also revealed a strong positive correlation between investment in 4IR technologies and employment in the manufacturing sector. Further findings revealed a statistically significant causal effect between investment in 4IR technologies and manufacturing firms’ employment, whereby, when manufacturing firms increase investment in 4IR technologies by 1 unit, the employment level increases by 3.13 units. These findings are supported by the two-way graph, which portrays growth in employment level in the Tanzanian manufacturing sector as investment in industry 4.0 technologies increases. This study recommends that the government of Tanzania prioritise and invest further in technologically supportive infrastructure and enhance technical education for skills matching to fully embrace and harness the benefits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It further recommends that the Tanzanian Government review and improve its Sustainable Industrial Development Policy of 2020 and the Integrated Industrial Development Strategy of 2025 to promote and support not only resource-based industries, but also technology-based industries, to speed up industrialisation and employment within the country. The government should also improve its investment policies by aligning them with technological changes brought by 4IR, to attract more foreign direct investments (FDIs) that accelerate importation, adoption and imitation of 4IR technologies from developed countries for furtherance of industrialisation within the country