INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT AND
SOCIAL SCIENCES

Upskilling and Reskilling for Industry 5.0: A Strategic Framework for Building Human-Centric, Sustainable, and Resilient Industrial Workforces :An Empirical and Analytical Inquiry into Workforce Transformation Strategies

The transition from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0 represents a fundamental paradigm shift — moving from technocentric automation, hyper-efficiency, and machine isolation toward a holistic framework centered on human-centricity, environmental sustainability, and operational resilience. While Industry 4.0 prioritized the replacement or physical assistance of human labor through Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Industry 5.0 repositions the human worker at the center of manufacturing, re-establishing collaborative synergy between human cognitive and creative abilities and autonomous robotic precision. This article examines the critical imperatives of upskilling and reskilling within the Industry 5.0 paradigm. Using a mixed-method research design that combines a meta-analytical literature review, empirical industrial survey data (N = 150 manufacturing enterprises), and multi-criteria decision modeling (MCDM), the study identifies core competency gaps, evaluates training delivery frameworks, and formulates an actionable workforce development model. Findings indicate that although technical proficiency in collaborative robotics (cobotics) and AI literacy remains necessary, socio-psychological factors — specifically trust, cognitive adaptivity, systems thinking, and ethical decision-making — exert a 68% higher impact on successful Industry 5.0 transition than technical skills alone. Based on these insights, concrete strategic recommendations are offered for industrial leaders, policymakers, and educational institutions.