Construction Skills Queensland (CSQ) has launched a virtual reality (VR) experience for Queensland high school students to attract young people to the industry.
As part of the launch event, Cannon Hill Anglican College Year-10 students had a preview of the interactive experience that will extend CSQ’s successful Try’a Trade program into the digital ‘metaverse’.
Try’a Trade has previously given students a chance to physically try their hands at various construction trades such as plumbing, tiling and bricklaying.
The new VR-extension invites students onto virtual building sites, to interact with virtual site managers and tradies in a uniquely immersive setting.
CSQ CEO Brett Schimming said the VR Try’a Trade module presents new opportunities in the effort to get students excited about a future in construction.
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“The VR delivery format allows us to reach more students with a much more compelling story about the benefits of a career in construction,” he said.
“Students respond really well to new technology, so we see this as becoming an increasingly important part of our efforts to encourage new entrants into the construction industry.
“With elevated building activity projected to continue into the foreseeable future, and the industry already struggling to find workers to meet current demand, young people are critical to our future workforce needs.”
Schimming said there is a need for an ongoing pipeline of talented young people coming into the industry, particularly as the industry moves into a decade of sustained workforce demand.
The software was developed by company Next World.
Next World CEO Michael O’Reilly said VR training encouraged more active engagement with materials in a more focused environment.
“This is particularly useful when catering for a student audience, where an immersive product is able to remove all distractions from peers, mobile devices and general interference,” O’Reilly said.
“We expect to see VR headsets becoming commonplace in classrooms over the next few years as their benefits become more widely recognised and more education products expand into VR.”