Filling the Staff ‘Hunger’ by Implementation of Industry 4.0 and Gen Z Integration in the Industry of the Union State

FILLING THE STAFF “HUNGER” BY IMPLEMENTATION OF INDUSTRY 4.0 AND GEN Z INTEGRATION IN THE INDUSTRY OF THE UNION STATE.

Make way for the young: strategies to reduce the level of youth unemployment

Tachilkin Nikita Alexadrovich

Youth analyst of the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies

Metrology Engineer of Gomel Center for Standardization, Metrology, and Certification State Enterprise

According to the official Internet portal of the President of the Republic of Belarus, industrial production constitutes more than a quarter of Belarus GDP, i.e. 28.3%. At the same time, the industry is about to face staff “hunger” for blue-collar jobs. According to State Employment Service of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Belarus, as of March 1, 2024, employers declared availability 134.8 thousand vacancies. Demand for blue-collar workers made up 65.9% of the total number of vacancies, and the situation with labor shortage can become even more complicated with time. It is clear that one of the most important economic problems in the upcoming decades will be constant shortage of labor force.

According to deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation Alexader Novak, staff deficit reached 1.5 million people by 2024, and it may increase up to 2 million by 2030. According to the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina, the shortage of labor force constitutes the main problem of Russian economy. At the same time, mining and processing industries together form 33.7% of Russian GDP depending on the gross value added at basic prices.

Being an engineering graduate, I am particularly concerned about the current situation as during my internship and subsequent work at both private and public enterprises I tried myself in blue-collar and engineering positions, talked to colleagues and peers, saw the situation with my own eyes, and started to notice what I believe are certain patterns and mistakes that industrial organizations make both in relation to young experts and in the matters of staff “hunger” in general.

The goal of this essay is to help ensure economic sovereignty of the Union State through active involvement of the new hi-tech generation in the industry in order to

move towards the fourth industrial revolution.

The following research methods will be used to achieve the goals:

1.      Analysis of statistical data on gen Z.

2.      Analysis of statistical data of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection on employment and availability of vacancies.

3.      Surveys among gen Z representatives regarding direction of their careers and basic principles of job search.

4.      Analysis of international experience in implementation of Industry 4.0 based on the project of the Ministry of Economy and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), i.e. “Stimulating the potential of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies for inclusive and sustainable industrial development in Belarus”.

5.      Analysis of the social portrait of modern youth compiled by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.

6.      Analysis of the survey regarding values and priorities among the youth carried out by Russian Public Opinion Research (VCIOM).

Considering the problem of staff shortage in the industry. The obvious solution seemed to be in reducing the required number of jobs by way of enterprises switching to the rails of the fourth industrial revolution, automation and robotization of routine work processes, however, work in the Industry 4.0 system requires young skilled personnel be ready to work at high-tech production facilities. At the same time, according to Agency for Strategic Initiatives, “the average age of industrial workers is 45-50 years”. Based on my personal experience and the above-mentioned data, it becomes evident that when hiring managers and HR departments of enterprises fail to take into account or practically fail to take into account the value orientations of the young generation that is starting its work path (gen Z) or has yet to start working (gen α).

Note:

Gen Z (or zoomers) — people born fr om 1997 to 2012 under conditions of global digitalization of society. From early childhood, zoomers are very attached to gadgets and form their worldview and outlook on life based on recommendations of their friends and influencers.

Gen α — people born from 2010 to 2024. Today, it is difficult to fully study characteristics of this generation, however, it is already known that children of gen α consider serving high goals as their main value and can’t imagine their life without modern technology.

Meanwhile, in the nearest future members of gen Z and gen α will become the main driver of the economy. According to Bloomberg, as of 2020, members of gen Z made up 32% of the world population.

In this essay, I will rely on two complementary blocks, i.e. industry and introduction of gen Z and gen α into industry.

Industry

One of the reasons for increased labor automation is cheaper robotics. Over the past decade, the price of robots decreased by 27%, and the American bank forecasts price reduction by yet 22% in the next 10 years.

Industry 4.0 promotes the concept of so-called Smart Enterprise, as it creates some sort of virtual copy of the real world and make decentralized decisions. Thus, one of the main distinctive features of Industry 4.0 is elimination of the human factor in production.

In general, Industry 4.0 is the Internet of things (IoT), additive production, digitalization, and integration of data and workflows, remote monitoring, interdisciplinary design, and automation of control with the use of machine learning.

Regarding the issue of technology required for transition to Industry 4.0, based on the analysis results, I would like to highlight the following link: machine learning + computer vision (CV) + mechatronics + Internet of things (IoT). This combination of technologies jointly and severally can fulfill 90% of standard worker’s tasks. There are even cases of engineering staff replacement with computer vision. Thus, automation takes over most of the routine and physically demanding tasks, but creates the need for highly skilled young experts who have to be involved in the industry.

Introduction of gen Z and gen α into industry

According to the social portrait of the modern youth of the Republic of Belarus compiled based on the results of republican sociological surveys carried out by the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus in 2022. The most important value for young people is health, as it was named by 69.4 % of

the respondents, for youth in the Russian Federation this was 65%, besides, priority values include interesting work and profession (32.8 %).

According to survey carried out by VCIOM, the first place in the structure of value orientations of Russian youth belongs to family values: as important issues 97% named health of their family members and safety of their family, 96% – relations in the family; and 95% – financial situation of the family. This is followed by a group of values describing conditions at the place of residence: infrastructure at the place of residence (94%) and opportunities for achievement of the goals (94%), ecological situation (90%). The economic situation in the country is important for 89%, proper leisure – for 83%. Personal development values turned out to be less significant for young Russians: prospects for career advancement were mentioned in 81% of responses, social status – in 72%, creative self-realization – in 71%. Social values, i.e. participation in public and political life (52%) and participation in volunteer activities, help to others (49%) were in the bottom lines of the list of value orientations.

Considering the above information and analysis it becomes quite clear that the youth does not strive to work in dirty, unheated workshops with difficult working conditions and risk to life even for a lot of money. At present, there are work options in the service sector with much better working conditions although the wages are slightly lower. Thus, there will be almost no youth who wants to work in the industry. Modern equipment, robotization and automation of life-threatening processes, clean and spacious workshops, social package, mentoring and interaction with the fellows, networking, active cultural, social, sports, and public life within the framework of the enterprise are the keys to the hearts of young people. When dealing with gen α, it is important to take into account that currently many countries of the world place great emphasis on gamification of the educational process, and it is possible to consider the possibility of transfer of some game genre mechanic in the enterprise structure. For example, it is possible to introduce the character upgrade system from MMORPG games into career advancement and production standard fulfillment. To create digital forms reflecting person’s performance as a character’s level and reflect their awards for achievement of this level and rating among the employees.

It is clear that in the nearest future gen Z and gen α will become the main driver of the Republic of Belarus. Thus, to ensure our financial security and economic sovereignty it is crucial to create conditions for comfortable integration of the future generations into industry. In this connection I have identified a number of

recommendations for managers working with young experts from gen Z and gen α:

•        Talk briefly, but write in details and in a structured manner. Gen Z is bad in remembering things, as they grew up in the environment, wh ere everything can be checked on the Internet. A written task will help them remember the details.

•        Provide regular, at least nominal, encouragement. Z’s were praised for every small achievement, and they expect the same from you. For them praise is fuel and its absence significantly affects their performance.

•        Keep up with technology, don’t ban gadgets. Use modern technologies at work, follow trends, don’t be afraid to change.

•        Help them socialize. Don’t leave young employees on their own, they are bad at building strong relationships. During the adaptation period, focus on their involvement in the team.

•        Set clear deadlines. Deadlines help gen Z fight procrastination.

What scares zoomers away: bureaucracy, strictness, bad reputation of the enterprise, ban on the use of social networks during working hours.

What retains zoomers: comfort, routine process automation, wellbeing system, corporate social responsibility.

Thus, systematic implementation of Industry 4.0 and competent work with the current and next generation will make it possible to even out the situation with staff shortage and to make a contribution not only to the industry development, but also to the economic sovereignty of the Union State.