Before beginning work on an actual vehicle, an automotive training program in Maryland first has their students reaching for virtual reality goggles.
According to a CNN news report, students first watch a virtual demonstration by their instructor. They then follow prompts to complete the task themselves in virtual reality (VR). Once they work through the checklist in VR without the prompts, they can move onto working on a real vehicle.
“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 one instructor necessary,” Geoff Crawford, vice president of virtual reality at non-profit Vehicles for Change, told CNN.
This unconventional, virtual-first training program is set out to solve a real-world, nationwide problem: a significant shortage of qualified automotive technicians. In Maryland alone, Crawford said a recent online search showed 2,600 technician jobs posted.
Martin Schwartz, the president of Vehicles for Change, designed the the virtual automotive program to address yet another problem as well, which is limited job options for former prisoners.
Schwartz is looking to grow the virtual program, making it available at prisons and trade schools. He hopes to establish 20 sites over the next five years.
