New technology impact on the Sustainable Development

Abstract

The study addresses the aspects of sustainable economic development in terms of Industry 4.0. The fourth industrial revolution is built on digitalization of manufacturing processes, gathering and analysing data across machines and transformation of enterprises into smart and sustainable ones. This manufacturing revolution will bring along significant changes in labour markets. The Slovak economy focuses on industrial production based on cheap labour. In terms of Industry 4.0, the pools of low-skilled workers will no longer be needed. Even today, digital skills and competences are needed for employment. Thus, attention needs to be paid to the need to develop digital skills in order to achieve sustainable economic and social development of countries and regions. The purpose of the paper is to analyse the selected indicators of sustainable development and the effects of Industry 4.0 on their development in the Slovak Republic. The analysis of sustainable development indicators within the framework of Industry 4.0 makes the paper original. The issue has not been treated from this perspective in the Slovak Republic. Thus, new opportunities are opened up to examine social and economic effects of Industry 4.0. Several scientific disciplines tackled the issue from their own perspectives whereas associations of different kinds were not investigated. Basic mathematical and statistical methods (timelines, comparative statistics), analysis of materials, publications, governmental concepts and the EU decisions on the issue have been employed. The data were drawn from the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, Ministry of Economy, OECD and EUROSTAT. The authors attempted to identify new opportunities for achieving long-term competitiveness of the Slovak economy and sustainable social development. Several recommendations have been made mainly to the education sector which is deemed for driving innovation. © 2019, Kauno Technologijos Universitetas. All rights reserved.