Effectiveness of an Engineering-Led IR4.0 Training Program in Malaysia: A Qualitative Study

As Malaysia accelerates its transition toward Industry Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0), the effectiveness of engineering-led training programs—especially among small and medium enterprises (SMEs)—remains underexplored. Existing evaluations often emphasize technical skills or student outcomes, neglecting organizational learning, cross-functional collaboration, and systemic readiness. This study addresses these gaps through a qualitative single-case study of the Engineering Competence for IR4.0 training program by the Selangor Human Resource Development Centre (SHRDC), supported by a systematic literature review. Guided by the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, Organizational Learning Theory (OLT), and Sociotechnical Systems (STS) perspective, thematic analysis of interviews with 12 engineering graduates highlights key challenges: departmental silos, limited integration, and inadequate post-training support. While participants gained foundational digital competencies, broader organizational transformation was constrained. In response, the study proposes the Integrated IR4.0 Training-to-Transformation (IITT) Framework—a novel model that aligns training content, learning mechanisms, and organizational enablers to support sustainable digital change. The research offers a localized, theory-informed understanding of why IR4.0 training often fails to scale beyond individual learning. It provides actionable insights for policymakers and training providers to design interdisciplinary, application-driven models. Ultimately, this study bridges individual skill acquisition with organizational alignment, contributing to digital capability development in emerging economies and laying the groundwork for future validation of the IITT framework.