Learning Factories 5.0 for Industry 5.0 Readiness in Sustainable Construction: A Competency-Driven Framework for Human-Centric and Sustainable Workforce Development
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Authors
Dong, Kangxing
Moshood, Taofeeq
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Journal Article
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Publisher
MDPI AG
Abstract
The transition toward Industry 5.0 in sustainable construction demands a radical reconceptualisation of workforce development, moving beyond purely technical training to embrace human-centricity, digitalisation, green competencies, and socio-cognitive resilience. Traditional vocational and higher education systems have largely failed to bridge the gap between emerging construction industry demands and the competencies possessed by current and future professionals. This systematic review investigates how Learning Factories’ 5.0 immersive, experiential, and technology-rich educational environments can address these gaps in sustainable construction contexts. Drawing on a synthesis of 71 peer-reviewed publications spanning 2015–2026 and supplemented by targeted construction-domain literature, this study pursues three objectives: (1) identifying core competencies for Industry 5.0 readiness in sustainable construction, (2) examining how Learning Factories 5.0 support the development of these competencies, and (3) proposing a competency-driven framework for integrating Learning Factories 5.0 into sustainable construction education and training. Seven transdisciplinary competency clusters are identified—Attitude toward Digitalisation, Technical–Green Proficiency, Information and Data Literacy, Digital Security, Collaborative Systems Thinking, Adaptive Problem-Solving, and Reflective Sustainability Practice—and a theoretically derived, eight-phase Construction Learning Factory 5.0 (CLF5.0) Framework is proposed as a conceptual architecture for future empirical development and institutional adaptation. The framework is presented as a generative starting point rather than a prescriptive model, and its effectiveness in diverse construction education contexts requires empirical validation through future implementation studies. Findings reveal that while Learning Factories offer transformative potential, critical barriers remain in terms of economic feasibility, faculty development, industry–academia alignment, and empirical validation. This paper contributes a construction-specific competency architecture and implementation pathway to support the industry’s transition toward a sustainable, human-centric, and Industry 5.0-aligned future.Description
Keywords
33 Built Environment and Design, 3302 Building, 4 Quality Education, 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, 1201 Architecture, 1202 Building, 1203 Design Practice and Management, 3301 Architecture, 4005 Civil engineering, Learning Factories 5.0, Industry 5.0, sustainable construction, workforce development, competency framework, green skills, digital transformation, human-centric education
Source
Buildings, ISSN: 2075-5309 (Print); 2075-5309 (Online), MDPI AG, 16(10), 2024-2024. doi: 10.3390/buildings16102024
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© 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.