Accelerate Skilled Trades Careers with Library Training
Libraries can support community job seekers by providing affordable, accessible online and virtual reality training that accelerates skill development and job readiness for in-demand skilled trades careers.
Accelerate Job Readiness in Your Community
Help patrons start careers in the skilled trades.
With a large demand for skilled workers and employees leaving the workforce at record rates, there is a dire need for affordable and broadly accessible pathways into trades careers. Libraries today have a unique opportunity to contribute to the success of job seekers and build stronger community connections by offering training that prepares people for these in-demand careers.
In this overview, learn how to help patrons:
- Start careers in the skilled trades
- Gain job-ready skills, faster
- Access online training for the real-world
- Learn faster with field-like 3D and virtual reality simulations
- Reskill or upskill to find a job
Related
Workforce Development Programs and Skilled Trades Careers
Workforce development programs are crucial in addressing the U.S. skilled labor shortage—particularly in trades like construction, plumbing, and HVAC—by providing flexible, technology-enhanced training opportunities that enable individuals to enter well-paying middle-class careers, with many new skilled trade workers earning at least $50,000 annually despite common misconceptions about low earning potential.
Facebook's VR Impact on Skilled Trades Training
Facebook's rebranding to Meta and its $10 billion investment in VR and the metaverse underscore the growing importance of virtual reality as a transformative tool for educational and vocational training, particularly addressing the critical labor shortages and declining enrollment in skilled trades programs amid an aging workforce.
3D & VR Sim-Based Training for Students
Interplay Learning provides online, on-demand 3D simulation and virtual reality training for skilled trades students, offering industry-aligned courses and certifications across various trades, enabling flexible, safe practice environments, curriculum integration, progress tracking, and proven success in preparing students for workforce readiness as endorsed by educators and employers.
3D & VR Sim-Based Training For Students
Interplay Learning provides online, on-demand 3D simulation and virtual reality training for skilled trades students, offering industry-recognized certifications, flexible practice environments, curriculum-aligned content across various trades, and proven success in preparing students for workforce readiness through partnerships with employers and educational institutions.
Interplay Learning Wins $100k in XR Education Prize Challenge
Interplay Learning won second place and a $100,000 prize in the XR Education Prize Challenge, hosted by NYU and Techstars with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for their VR-based Skilled Trades Training Catalog that addresses the U.S. skilled labor shortage by providing accessible, affordable, and effective virtual reality training for mechanical, electrical, and industrial trades.
Interplay Learning Selected to Provide Online, On-Demand Training Opportunities to Three Neighborly Home Service Brands
Interplay Learning has been selected as a preferred vendor by Neighborly to provide its Aire Serv, Mr. Electric, and Mr. Rooter Plumbing franchises in the U.S. and Canada with an online, on-demand training platform featuring 3D simulations and virtual reality to enhance remote, experiential learning and improve service professionals' practical skills.