Funding for College to Develop VR Construction Training

CITY COLLEGE Plymouth has received £280,000 funding from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) to develop and deliver a two year immersive learning project.

Kier Living and VR experts, We Are The Moment are partnering with Plymouth Construction Training Group and Building Plymouth to deliver the programme.

The project will develop state-of-the-art training experiences to support the 10,000 projected new jobs expected in the Plymouth construction industry over the next 5 years.

The partnership will promote the implementation of new virtual reality (VR) technologies in higher and further education and in the wider construction industry. It aims to attract and retain talent to improve productivity and address the industry’s skills gap.

Funding for College

Lance Chatfield, Academy Manager for Higher Technology Skills at the College said: “We will pilot and deliver innovative immersive learning experiences that replicate developments in the city. Central to each of these experiences is the development of a VR ‘house’ environment. This will be based on a Kier Living four bed construction, as seen around the Plymouth area. The house will be used to demonstrate real-life examples to aid health and safety practice in a secure and safe environment, adding a key immersive element to the classroom-taught curriculum currently taught at the college.

“The project will also be going on the road later this year, when students and potential new construction recruits will be able to try out VR challenges at roadshows, Apprenticeship fairs and College Open Days.”