Training Industry Magazine - July/August 2018 - 25

helps facilitate moving information from
short-term to long-term memory.

THE DRIVING FORCE FOR CHANGE
Research data has proved time and again
that L&D is evolving. L&D professionals
are now faced with new expectations
around learning platforms, social
integration and real-world scenariobased learning.
Driving these new expectations is a
new generation of workers. There are
approximately 80 million millennials
currently in the workforce, and by 2025,
three out of every four workers will be
millennials. According to the Journal of
Organizational Learning and Leadership,
millennials' traits related to innovation
and exploration are best enhanced
through active learning.
Millennials are playing a major role in
the revamped learning strategies taking
place in many organizations right now.
There is no time to waste. Not being on
top of emerging learning technologies
and trends means a widened skills gap
and unskilled workers taking the helm.

CONSTRUCTING A NEW WORLD
As L&D professionals begin to grasp
what the new world looks like,
there are a couple of trends that are
leading the charge. Augmented and
virtual reality are popular terms in the
gaming industry that are now popping
up in the corporate learning space.
Sometimes
used
interchangeably,
AR and VR are quite different in their
functioning and purpose.
With AR technology, you are in your
own real-world environment with added
virtual elements such as graphics, labels,
sounds, and even sensations. This allows
for a layer of interaction between your
world and the virtual world. For example,
Agco, an agricultural equipment
manufacturer, is using AR technology

as part of their on-the-job training
program. Virtual elements are layered
through the wearable headsets that
enable workers to scan a serial number
and see the operating manual, a photo,
or even a video on that particular piece
of equipment. This allows new hires to
look at critical information through their
wearable device, while training with
new equipment.
Through the use of wearable technology,
Agco has reduced the learning curve for
new hires by 50 percent. They are also
using AR to improve team collaboration
and efficiency of quality inspections.

RESEARCH DATA HAS PROVED
TIME AND AGAIN THAT
L&D IS EVOLVING.
With VR technology, you are in a
completely simulated environment
and immersed into a 3D world. You
can take a walk in the rainforest, hear
the sounds of the animals and interact
with your environment, without leaving
the comfort of your living room. In a
corporate training environment, Fidelity
Investments is testing VR technology
to provide empathy training for call
center employees. Built on the Google
Daydream headset, the employee is
taken into the Fidelity customer's home,
where the customer appears stressed,
with a large amount of bills on her
counter and a pair of crutches by her side.
"Throughout the training, the Fidelity
employee is 'transported' between the
call center and the customer's living
room to view the environment, facial
expressions and personal perspective."
The employee is tasked with making
decisions along the way, and with
the help of branched outcomes built
into the program (built with STRIVR),
is able to see the immediate impact

on the customer. Empathy training in
this type of immersive environment
allows the trainee to visualize a
customer's situation and reaction,
allowing for a greater mind-heart
connection to the training.

BENEFITS
With new industries testing AR and
VR technology every few months, the
benefits now range from meeting
soft skills competencies, as tested by
Fidelity Labs, to meeting complex skill
requirements, as proven by Agco. Here
are just a few potential benefits in
putting trainees in a real-life immersive
learning environment.

Minimizes risk of mistakes
AR/VR allows trainees to practice highskilled complex tasks in a simulated
environment
with
opportunities
to make mistakes and receive realtime feedback during the training
process, which reduces on-the-job
mistakes. For example, Osso VR allows
orthopedic surgeons to practice via
surgical simulations in a highly realistic
environment to supplement the limited
ability to practice on cadavers.

Increases engagement for
remote learners
With a dispersed workforce, flying
trainees to one centralized training
location can be expensive, but
trying to train remotely can cause a
disconnect with engagement from
the remote trainees. AR/VR allows
engagement with the learning to take
place from anywhere in the world. For
example, AGL Energy Limited uses VR
for inducting new employees (from
anywhere in the country) on "Welcome
Day," by immersing them into a standup meeting and viewing the company
headquarters in Sydney, Australia. AGL's
future goals are to use VR technology for
office learning and development, onsite safety training and communication.

T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MA GAZ INE - TRAINING TOOLBOX 20 18 I WWW. T RAI NINGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/tykiisel/2012/05/16/gimme-gimme-gimme-millennials-in-the-workplace/#3ef146b3bcea http://www.leadingtoday.org/weleadinlearning/Spring2014/Spring_2014_Farrell.pdf http://www.leadingtoday.org/weleadinlearning/Spring2014/Spring_2014_Farrell.pdf http://www.ossovr.com/ https://www.fidelitylabs.com/2017/10/13/exploring-virtual-reality-for-empathy-training/ https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/566044/agl-tests-virtual-reality-employee-training/?utm_source=t.co&utm_content=awesm-publisher&utm_campaign=&utm_medium=idg.to-twitter https://www.trainingindustry.com/magazine

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - July/August 2018