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Researchers from Heriot-Watt's School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society (EGIS) have won the UK Career Development award (2017) for Best Practice in the Use of Technology in Career Development.
The CyberBuild Lab and Immersive and Controlled Environment for Construction Training (ICE) team worked with Skills Development Scotland (SDS), the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and Animmersion Ltd to develop set of three Virtual Reality (VR) games which help promote career opportunities in the construction industry.
The games develop a practical understanding of what different construction disciplines are actually about; this should help young people make better-informed decisions about their learning and training, and ultimately their selection of professional career.
Virtual Reality - Careers in Construction was launched (to coincide with Scottish Apprentice Week) as part of the the My World of Work Live! programme. Pupils from Edinburgh's Leith Academy were joined by apprentices from Sharkey Group and First Call Trade Services to try the new games and give their impression. VR Project Manager, one of the three mini-games, has been launched as a free Android app via Google Play.
Dr Abdel-Wahab, project lead for Heriot-Watt said "This project is an exemplar of collaboration and concerted effort of industry's stakeholders to address an industry's perennial problem, namely skills shortages, by promoting careers in construction using virtual reality". Dr Frédéric Bosché added "The games develop a practical understanding of what different construction disciplines are actually about; this should help young people make better-informed decisions about their learning and training, and ultimately their selection of professional careers".