What Is Virtual Reality Training?

You may have heard the term thrown around before, and to anyone not in the know, VR training might sound rather nebulous. In simple terms, it involves using virtual reality technology to create realistic scenarios and experiences to facilitate workforce development. Forward-thinking companies who stay on top of industry trends can take advantage of VR training to always keep their employees on the bleeding edge, establishing themselves as a leader in innovation. Learn more about VR training features and everything else there is to know in this comprehensive guide!

What Is VR Training?

In essence, virtual reality training relies on life-like simulations to create immersive learning experiences in place of the more traditional methods. As businesses keep striving to bolster effectiveness and productivity by leveraging emerging technologies, more and more of them have started to gravitate toward less conventional solutions, such as VR.

But is it really just about the hype of implementing “the new thing?” Not necessarily. Unlike flashy tech fads that overpromise and never deliver (think Google Glass in the workplace), VR training is proving its worth by offering measurable improvements in upskilling and reskilling, employee engagement, and overall training effectiveness.

How Does VR Training Work?

Companies like Mazer Trainer offer robust virtual reality training platforms (also often referred to as virtual training centers). Through these platforms, businesses can customize the training environment in VR to accommodate their needs. In fact, this flexibility is the keystone element and one of the main benefits of VR training over traditional training—with the right tweaks, you can easily turn a well-rounded template into a specific training module and educate your workforce within a niche or have them learn a new skill particularly valuable in your industry.

Once the modules have been designed and a cohesive training program is ready to go, it’s time to get to learning. Using VR headsets, participants complete the available scenarios and learn along the way. The criteria for completion are entirely up to you—it can be a time-based or goal-based activity or anything in between.

Key VR Training Benefits

After this introduction, you still likely need more in-depth reasons why using VR training systems makes sense. Let’s discuss some of the main benefits that VR training solutions bring to the table:

Better Than Conventional Methods

Traditional training methods often rely on lectures, presentations, and basic e-learning modules. For many applications, these are completely sufficient, but they struggle to keep learners engaged. VR training, on the other hand, offers a significantly more immersive approach and a hands-on experience, perfect for those who prefer learning by doing and/or fringe scenarios that are not easily replicable but need to be studied nonetheless.

Easy Global Rollout

Scaling traditional training methods across multiple locations can be costly and inconsistent. VR training eliminates these barriers, allowing companies to completely standardize their training approach regardless of location.

Lower Long-Term Costs

While there is certainly a considerable initial investment to keep in mind, VR training reduces training costs over the long term. Businesses save on travel expenses, preparing material, and instructor fees. Plus, employees can learn as often and as many times as they like, maximizing the efficiency of the VR training platform.

Endless Customizability

One of the key VR training features is its customizability. The training modules can be tailored to fit the needs of any industry, skill level, or training objective.

The Takeaway

Implementing VR training can be truly revolutionary for your organization—provided you know how to pick the right VR training platform. Let your company’s goals guide your choice, and meeting business needs will become significantly easier. Curious to see what the best players have on offer? We cover this in a separate article about the most advanced XR training platforms.