Supporting industrial investments in underdeveloped countries through a competency model for manufacturing workforce

During the last years, business leaders and big investors have recognized huge potential in different underdeveloped countries. Investments in the industrial sector – and specifically in labour-intensive manufacturing production sites – represent today a potential strategic resource for the growth of underdeveloped countries. However, investments from the private sector in industrial development remain low. Beyond conflicts and political instability, a main reason why companies hesitate to set up businesses in underdevelopment countries is the lack of an industrial strategy for penetrating these areas. Indeed, this shall move from focusing on natural resources and infrastructure to manufacturing opportunities. Here, however, the profound cultural and attitudinal differences of workforce and general employees complicate the development and sustainability of industrial investments. Consequently, this research aims to create a detailed model that thoroughly describes the human competence specifically needed for manufacturing industries, in order to productively support investments in underdeveloped territories. In this paper an individual competency model is presented in order to capture the main dimensions that define blue-collars’ skills in different manufacturing sectors, starting from the analysis of the categories of industrial skills. The proposal has been validated in two specific industries, taking as a reference the African continent, which currently seems to ensure the bigger opportunities for investments in manufacturing sites. The proposed approach can be useful for guiding investment plans for manufacturing companies in undeveloped countries, supporting the identification of the skills required by specific industrial sites.