Virtual Reality Training Program will replace workforce
2023.02.16 12:07
Virtual Reality Training Program will replace workforce
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – Virtual reality goggles, not a wrench, are the first tools that mechanic trainees at Maryland’s Vehicles for Change program acquire.
In the beginning, students watch a virtual instructor demonstrate a skill; Then, in VR, they follow instructions to carry out a procedure on their own. Before practicing on a real car, students work through the checklist in VR without being told.
Geoff Crawford, vice president of virtual reality at the nonprofit Vehicles for Change, stated, “We can have three people actually doing a live instruction of an oil change while I have three other people simultaneously learning that same lesson in the headset – and it’s only necessary to have one instructor.”
A novel approach to a real-world issue is the virtual-first training program: a serious lack of skilled automotive technicians. According to estimates from the National Automobile Dealers Association, retirements and business expansion result in the creation of 76,000 mechanic jobs across the nation each year, but only 37,000 of those positions are filled. According to Crawford, a recent online search revealed 2,600 posted mechanic jobs just in Maryland.
This shortage affects a lot more than just repair shops looking to hire employees. According to trade groups, a lack of skilled workers in garages is increasing repair costs, causing delays, and hurting people whose cars need to be fixed right away. However, Crawford is hopeful that VR can assist in easing this blockage.
He stated, “It will expedite the process of getting people ready to come into the garages at the entry level.”
Opportunities for its application in educational settings have emerged as VR technology has improved and become less expensive. VR was used by doctors and nurses to learn how to treat Covid-19 patients at the beginning of the pandemic.
VR has been used by fire departments to train firefighters without using a fire. Additionally, as demand for remote education exploded during the pandemic, some schools have utilized virtual reality to extend the classroom beyond its physical boundaries.
The virtual automotive program, according to Vehicles for Change president Martin Schwartz, was designed to address another issue as well: limited employment opportunities for ex-offenders.
Schwartz stated, “One of the problems we have in our prisons across the country is that we really are not providing people with a skill when they leave prison.”
According to Schwartz, released felons frequently have to meet probation or parole requirements and pay costs, but they have trouble finding employment due to “a big sign on their chest.” The automotive industry, on the other hand, is “a little bit more lenient and is willing to hire people with a criminal background and you can make quite a living,” according to one source.
As part of a work release program, Marcus Butler began his VR training. Butler said he is thankful to have a career opportunity on the other side as he finishes serving an eight-year sentence for armed robbery.
He stated, “I have a skillful trade with me.” I learned it, I know it, and I always see cars everywhere I go. I’ll always be employed.
Schwartz wants to expand the program and offer it at trade schools and prisons. In the next five years, he wants to open 20 new locations.
He declared, “This is number one, the wave of the future.”
