Empowering SMEs for the digital future: unveiling training needs and nurturing ecosystem support

ABSTRACT

Previous studies show that digital transition brings several benefits and challenges for companies. Among those challenges, particularly for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), the main one is increased capacitation, from technical roles to management. Considering this, the main objective of this study is to identify the training needs and the ecosystem support in the face of the digital transition for Portuguese manufacturing SMEs.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with industry experts and company professionals in the automotive and textile sectors. It was concluded that all workers, from technical roles to middle and top management, need more digital capabilities and would benefit from training programmes. The most desired areas for training are data science, virtualisation skills, quality assurance, technical training, and soft skills. The preferred format is physical (or hybrid at most) during working hours and with theoretical training before on-the-job learning. Both industrial companies and experts believe in the value of involving external entities in the training of employees, with the three most referred entities being technology and interface centres, universities, and business associations.

KEYWORDS:

• Training
• upskilling
• reskilling
• digital transition
• innovation ecosystem
• SMEs

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tiago Carvalho

Tiago Carvalho is a Senior Associate in Corporate Strategy at Sonae SGPS, with extensive experience in corporate strategy development, strategic planning cycle coordination, portfolio management decisions, and industry analysis. Prior to this role, he worked in Corporate and International Tax Structuring at PwC. Tiago holds an MSc in Economics and Management of Innovation and a BSc in Economics, both from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Porto (Portugal), as well as an executive course in Strategic Management and Value Creation from Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics (Portugal).

Ana Correia Simões

Ana Correia Simões is a Senior Researcher and consultant in the Centre for Enterprise of Systems Engineering from INESC TEC in several R&D projects, funded by different types of entities, in the areas of technology adoption, innovation process, design, and development of advanced training programs, and healthcare planning. Responsible for the training area in the Industry and Innovation Lab (iiLab) at INESC TEC. Author of several publications in international and indexed journals and conferences in the field of management, technology management, and healthcare planning/management.

Vasco Teles

Vasco Teles is a Ph.D. by the MIT Portugal Program in Engineering Design and Advanced Manufacturing with the theme of Technology planning and exploitation. He has a background in Electrical Engineering from the Faculty Engineering – University of Porto (FEUP). He currently works in technology strategy and licensing at INESC TEC. He has industrial and scientific experience in advanced manufacturing at national and European levels, where he has developed several strategic projects and has been an invited expert in innovation and public policy initiatives. Among others, he previously worked with PRODUTECH, the Portuguese cluster for production technologies where e.g. he coordinated the cluster’s strategy and technology roadmapping, and with Sonae, the largest Portuguese retailer, developing innovative projects in operations, e-commerce, and tourism, and where he was a co-founder of the Innovation Department.

António Henrique Almeida

António Henrique Almeida holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering and Management (2014) from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, Portugal. He is an auxiliary professor at the Mechanical Engineering department of the Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP), Polytechnic University of Porto, where he teaches courses in the Master’s programs for Mechanical Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering. Since 2020, he has also been an invited professor at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, teaching in the Master’s programs for Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Management, and Innovation and Technological Entrepreneurship. His research at the Enterprise Systems Engineering (CESE) center of INESC TEC focuses on Operations Management, Industry 4.0/5.0, Digital Transformation Strategies, Logistics 4.0, Manufacturing as a Service, Digital Twin, Human-Centered Technologies, and AI in Manufacturing. He has participated in 2 PT2020 projects, 6 European projects (H2020 and Horizon Europe), and 16 national and European industry services. He has supervised 1 PhD student and 8 MSc students. His publications include 5 Web of Science-indexed journal articles, 2 book chapters, and 19 conference papers. He co-chaired the 23rd International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing, FAIM 2013.