[Sub ID 4709] Holistic career support with virtual reality technology inputs (Diversitat)

Submission ID: 4709
Organisation name: Diversitat
Contact name: Mr Garry Gow
State: VIC
Contact email: garry.gow@diversitat.org.au

Which priority group of the Try, Test and Learn Fund does your idea support?
Young carers, Young parents, Young students at risk of long-term unemployment

What need or issue are you trying to address?
The cohort of participants aligned to this program have many barriers to attending genuine work experience due to their current situations, e.g. young parents with family commitments,carer with a multitude of carer commitments and also long term unemployed who lack the confidence/skills to enter the workforce.

People seeking employment benefit from undertaking a period of time at an employer’s premises to gain real life exposure to the activities, workflows, procedures and practices of that employer.

Employers are keen to employ people who have had work-experience in their industry and yet it is becoming difficult to negotiate work experience placements with employers due to various reasons. For example; demand for placement is at an all-time high due to national training package requirements, structured workplace learning in the VCAL space and school based apprenticeships, tertiary internships and employers are unhappy being approached frequently. An additional responsibility exists for the employer to allocate time & resources away from normal workloads, employers do not get compensated, some employers report bad experiences with participants due to lack of soft skills, not having confidence to communicate or contribute, or experience lateness or absence or using phones during work activities.

What is your idea?
The opportunity exists to use technological advancements such as, 360 videos / Virtual Reality (VR) to represent real workplace situations & scenarios that can be used to help build confidence and awareness of industry practices through observation and discussion. The 360 videos specific to individual employer/workplace environments are designed as introduction & familiarisation to the workplace operations, workflows, risks/hazards, roles and communication skills required.

The major benefit of utilising this technology is that the experience can occur in times that the participant is available and is very flexible in terms of delivery.

The following wraparound support program detail how the service would be delivered.

Stage 1 – participants to meet with career counsellor/trainer to map out career pathways and the barriers they have to gaining employment.

Stage 2 – Give participant access to Virtual Reality workplaces to allow them to gain confidence of real workplace practices in a safe environment where they will be able to:
• Learn practical skills
• Increase soft skills
• Increase exposure to workplace culture
• Increase exposure to workplace environment & business practices
• Build confidence by dealing with conflicting situations

Stage 3 – The career counsellor/trainer will then assess the responses to the simulated workplace situations and provide training on the gaps identified.

Stage 4 – The career counsellor/trainer will work closely with the participant to identify workplaces where an internship or placement can occur to allow participant to build on the skills learned. A key advantage will be that the participants will have gained many skills, therefore making it an easier sell to prospective employers.

Stage 5 – A resume will be prepared with the skills and training developed through the program to allow participant to apply for relevant employment positions.

Stage 6 – The counsellor will continue to support the participant with these processes acting as referee and also providing mentoring and support during the recruitment process.