Mind the Skills Gap: A Conceptual Framework for Integrating Technology-mediated Learning in People-centric Production Systems

Abstract

Climate change, supply chain disruptions, and an increasingly dynamic digital transformation are imposing major challenges on the manufacturing workforce. In particular, constantly changing and increasing skill requirements is a resulting key challenge for a mostly unprepared workforce. However, traditional training approaches in isolation seem to fall short of addressing this manufacturing skills gap. The limited scalability of many in-person approaches and the variable effectiveness of traditional methods may be a reason for that. Technology-mediated Learning in industry (iTML) promises to bridge the gap between increasing shop floor training demands and challenges around scalability, effectiveness, and people-centricity. iTML comprises a range of methods – for instance microlearning, AR, or VR training – that promise to facilitate lifelong learning as an integral part of production systems. However, it remains largely unclear which factors manufacturers should consider for the systematic a) integration decision-making, b) implementation, and c) evaluation of iTML. To address the above research gap, this thesis presents an interdisciplinary mixed methods study. In doing so, engaged scholarship paradigms are followed under a pragmatist research philosophy. In five complementary sub-studies, this thesis investigates the phenomenon of technology-mediated learning integration in industry. The five studies comprise an initial exploratory study, two explanatory case studies, an explanatory questionnaire study, and a final constructive design science study. Overall, 268 research interactions – such as interviews, workshops, observations, and pilot studies – were conducted with cross-hierarchical stakeholders from 81 organisations. The key contribution of this thesis is a conceptual framework for systematically informing managerial iTML activities. The framework presents 19 elements from seven dimensions in two clusters that influence iTML integration. The seven dimensions include the contextual aspects of a) technology, organisation, environment, and learning, as well as the processual dimensions of b) decision-making, implementation, and evaluation. In doing so this thesis contributes a managerial end-to-end perspective on technology-mediated learning for manufacturing employees.