Immersive Learning for Technical Training

Challenge

Over 45,000 executives and managers had six months to be skilled up in technical training paths. The traditional approach could not be adopted in the time allowed, as it required months-long on-site training plus virtual and WBT.  There was neither the time, nor the instructors, to train all of them in technical skills in time to meet BCP expectations.

Approach

My solution was to adapt military simulator technologies into immersive learning training tools. This resulted in the creation of hands-on training through gaming simulators in a business context. Linemen through home installers learned technical skills and procedural processes for their roles in an immersive training environment that allowed them to gain understanding within a safe space. This was built from the ground up with vendor support.

Outcome

Leveraging immersive learning allowed users to train off site then have a 1-week on-site class to validate their skills. This replaced the previous 1-2 month in-person training program. This hybrid program improved retention rates, reduced training costs, and had a higher percentage of students who felt prepared for the job than traditional classroom training. Additionally, Immersive learning has a 75-90% retention rate over traditional lectures/reading’s rate of 5%-20% .

Learners were able to meet the timeline and preparation goals for the event. This had a savings cost in reduced seat time of 16M dollars annually.  This program would go one to be applied to regular training curriculums – revolutionizing the way technical skills were trained, and providing more large scale, long-term savings.