Railway skill development for the Fourth Industrial Revolution: A systematic review of developing countries

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has introduced a new wave of technologies which have instigated new skills for the future workforce. These new skill requirements have presented both opportunities and challenges for entities; while potential opportunities exist in gaining a competitive edge via leveraging on the technologies to maximise economic benefits, a major challenge exists in upskilling today's workforce in the new technologies. Seamless transportation of commodities and the labour force is a priority for developing countries with a vision to boost economic activities that will eventually translate into better standards of living. Hence, many developing countries have adopted rail as a mode of transport and improvements in rail operations will translate into economic benefits for the state. South Africa's rail sector, just like those in other developing countries, is impacted by 4IR technologies; consequently, this study uses South Africa as a case study to outline through a systematic literature review, how 4IR skill development can be achieved in the railway sector of developing countries. Four themes were identified in reviewed literature; these include identification of 4IR skills, stakeholders in 4IR skill development, existing 4IR skill development approaches, and barriers to skill development. The themes reveal practical methods that can be adopted to drive 4IR skill development initiatives; the proposed order is to first identify the required 4IR skills needed and identify the responsible stakeholders for skill development initiatives. This can then be followed by learning from existing skill development approaches adopted by organisations in developing and developed countries; finally, the potential barriers to 4IR skills development should be considered to serve as a proactive measure in mitigating skill development barriers.