As South Africa accelerates its manufacturing modernisation strategy, experts warn that digitalising factories without equipping workers with the right information and skills could undermine the country's reindustrialisation ambitions.
South Africa's drive to modernise its manufacturing sector through digitalisation risks falling short unless equal attention is given to equipping factory workers with the information and skills needed to operate increasingly advanced production environments.
That is the warning emerging in the wake of the Manufacturing Indaba, where digitalisation featured prominently as one of the key pillars underpinning South Africa's reindustrialisation strategy.
Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition John Steenhuisen identified digitalisation, alongside diversification and decarbonisation, as central to rebuilding the country's manufacturing base.
However, concerns have been raised that much of the discussion around Industry 4.0 continues to focus almost exclusively on robotics, artificial intelligence and factory automation, while overlooking the workers responsible for keeping those systems running.
