Futureproofing the Workforce with Technical Skills Training for Human-Technology Interaction

9 pages•Published: July 23, 2025

Abstract

This paper aims to identify and explore the technical skills necessary to enhance the safety of human-technology interactions (HTI) and determine the most effective training methods for developing these skill sets, enabling the workforce to engage with emerging human-technology solutions (HTS) safely. Adopting an interpretive philosophical stance and an inductive approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with professionals and focus group discussions with artisans in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), South Africa. The study identified the technical skills necessary for the proposed mitigation strategies following a thematic analysis. These findings have practical implications for the industry, as they outline effective methods for acquiring these skills in response to emerging HTS, making the research directly applicable to real-world scenarios. While previous research has extensively outlined the barriers to adopting HTS, including the safety risks associated with specific technology and strategies for mitigating these risks, this paper identifies the technical skills required to implement mitigation strategies effectively.

Keyphrases: construction, education and training, health and safety, human technology, technical skills

In: Wesley Collins, Anthony J. Perrenoud and John Posillico (editors). Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 61st Annual International Conference, vol 6, pages 914-922.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/zHhc
	https://doi.org/10.29007/96s7

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{ASC2025:Futureproofing_Workforce_with_Technical,
  author    = {Cassey-Jade Smith and Fidelis Emuze},
  title     = {Futureproofing the Workforce with Technical Skills Training for Human-Technology Interaction},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 61st Annual International Conference},
  editor    = {Wesley Collins and Anthony J. Perrenoud and John Posillico},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Built Environment},
  volume    = {6},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2632-881X},
  url       = {/publications/paper/zHhc},
  doi       = {10.29007/96s7},
  pages     = {914-922},
  year      = {2025}}

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