Competency Framework to Cater for IR4.0 for the Financial Graduates in Banking Industry in China

Abstract

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) has fundamentally transformed the banking industry through the widespread adoption of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, blockchain, and cloud computing. These technological advancements have reshaped banking operations, service delivery models, and workforce competency requirements, creating new challenges for higher vocational education institutions in preparing industry-ready financial graduates. In China, the rapid digital transformation of the banking sector has intensified the mismatch between graduate competencies and industry expectations, thereby affecting graduate employability. This paper proposes a competency framework to support the development of financial graduates from higher vocational education (TVET) institutions in response to IR4.0-driven industry demands. Grounded in Innovation Diffusion Theory, the Resource-Based View, Human Capital Theory, the Iceberg Model of Competencies, Employability Theory, and Co-evolutionary Theory, the framework conceptualizes the dynamic relationships among IR4.0 technologies, industry requirements, TVET, graduate competencies, and graduate employability. The proposed framework offers theoretical insights and practical guidance for curriculum reform, competency development, and industry–education integration in China’s banking sector.