Cognitive analysis of the development of human resource competencies in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Currently, the world is living in the era of the fourth industrial revolution. Although this era provides many opportunities for companies and organizations due to technological advances, it also presents many challenges. One of these challenges is the need for a set of new competencies that occur due to the transformation of the nature of jobs through digitalization in Industry 4.0. Hence, the purpose of the current research is to identify the skills needed in Industry 4.0 and provide a cognitive analysis of it. This research is classified as applied research and employs an exploratory mix method approach regarding data collection. The statistical population for this research includes experts in the steel industry (middle to upper managers). A sample of 10 experts from this sector were selected to complete the questionnaire, using a purposeful sampling method. Then, using the opinions of 10 experts of the steel industry in Yazd province, the collected data have been analyzed through the methods of intuitive fuzzy TOPSIS and intuitive fuzzy cognitive map. The competencies of Industry 4.0 in the steel industry were prioritized through intuitive fuzzy TOPSIS and the relationships between measures to improve competencies were explained using the intuitive fuzzy cognitive mapping method. The obtained findings indicate that the index of willingness of managers and owners of companies to move towards intelligentization and the creation of smart factories is more central than other measures, and as a result, more attention should be paid to it. Also, in the prioritization of competencies, it was found that customer-oriented competency has the highest priority.