Let’s people develop skills in a playful way, says Dutch recruitment company Randstad which aims to bridge the gap between the 7.6 million Dutch people who play games every day, and the world of work.
Under the name “Career Mode”, the company is launching various initiatives to help gamers find a job.
In its new ’ Work on yourself ’ campaign, Randstad encourages people to work on themselves by attending courses and training sessions.
“The labour shortage teaches us to look at talent differently and not only to focus on the CV but to see what keeps people busy on a daily basis. There is currently a major shortage of HGV drivers, electricians and forklift drivers. Career Mode is a creative way to connect with harder-to-reach target groups. Moreover, innovation challenges self-development. The games let people work on real skills,” explains the company.
Jeroen Tiel, Managing Director Randstad Netherlands adds:
“We see gaming as a creative way to appeal to and inspire a large target group. In the Netherlands, 7.6 million people play a game every day for an average of 60 minutes. Our own research shows that men and women do this almost equally and that gaming is a popular hobby in almost all age groups. In addition, it is much more than a game. Study results show that it is a good way to develop technical and soft skills that are useful in certain professions. Think of communication, collaboration and, for example, strategic thinking.”
So Randstad has entered into a partnership with game developer Gamedust. Together they have developed a special version of the existing game “Best Forklift Operator”. This version of the game will prepare players for the real-life forklift exam.
Players who have enough experience with the forklift get a specially designed exam level and then they can immediately go for a real forklift certificate.
Weston College uses VR headsets in HGV driver training
The use of gaming technology has gained more and more space in different vocational courses these days. For one, Somerset-based Weston College announced this summer that it has started using VR technology to help train lorry drivers as part of the UK Government’s Driver Bootcamp scheme.
This immersive driver training complements live driving instruction by putting the learner in the position of a passenger in an HGV or LGV.
As the college explains, the learner is exposed to a 360 environment through a VR headset, supported with commentary from the driving instructor who explains the process of driving the vehicle, along with graphic overlays that help the learner to visualise the correct route and technique to opt for.