Abstract
In the changing nature of business, intangible assets are the new source of competitive advantage to organisations. Given that talent is the most valuable asset, developing talent becomes a pertinent practice across jobs and industries. With the call of a “war for talent” in the late 1980s, the global business environment started to transform rapidlys. The later advent of automated technologies and Industry 4.0 changed the traditional view of a job role and led to the emergence of knowledge-intensive organisations. This change necessitates understanding talent and its evolution in the contemporary world as the nature of work is highly automated, leading to a new wave of jobs that need modern skills and evolving competencies. To stay relevant in this transforming complex environment, organisations and individuals should get into the habit of reskilling, upskilling, and continuous and lifelong learning, through talent development activities. In this study, we systematically trace the evolution of the talent concept over two decades and identify the competencies required for Industry 4.0, with which we explore how talent can be redefined for the future of work. We employed a state-of-the-art review method and inductive content analysis and further proposed a matrix of Industry 4.0 competencies using the global skills taxonomy. This matrix encompasses the competencies that talents need in Industry 4.0, and it can be updated to include the newer competencies and skills to match the changing times and contexts. The study has implications in guiding educational institutions, organisations, and the government to identify the competencies that the future of work requires and accordingly make policy changes to make individuals ready and contribute to the global economy.