Workforce training in high-demand and over-worked fields can be difficult in the best of times. It’s too costly to stop an assembly line is costly, and turning off essential equipment can be dangerous. The costs of training personnel en masse can be prohibitive. Social distancing has worsened these issues in fields where demand has soared. The ability to train employees in person has become limited or nonexistent.
Training medical professionals
The medical field is a perfect example of the challenge facing trainers and trainees. The UK’s General Medical Council’s annual training survey found that COVID-19 severely impacted 60% of trainees and 80% of trainers. The pandemic has made training difficult — if not impossible — in a field where continuous training is vital.
Medical professionals have begun looking to VR-based solutions to overcome these changes. Using VR for surgical training has proved to be far more effective in the short and long term than traditional methods. Being able to operate and use new equipment while in VR speeds up the learning process and improves long-term knowledge retention. The use of VR in medical training can help overcome the issues that doctors and medical students face when looking to stay caught up with the latest practices and equipment.
VR for E-Commerce
Another field heavily impacted by COVID-19 has been shipping and logistics. E-commerce has increased drastically since the beginning of the year, requiring an influx of new employees tasked with packing and loading packages to be shipped. Training in a normal environment is no longer an option because demand is too high to halt machinery for training. VR training can overcome these hurdles. It allows a safe environment to learn best practices for safe operation, as well as training on machinery in an entirely virtual and lifelike environment.
There are many more fields where the use of VR training can overcome those same limitations. Construction, heavy equipment training, and specialized trade skills such as vehicle or equipment repair are just a few examples. VR is key to replacing in-person and on-machine training while keeping employees safe and productive.
