Ohio Means Jobs Area 15 Broadens Horizons for Job Seekers and Students with VR from Transfr
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Ohio Means Jobs Area 15 (OMJ Area 15) is helping build classroom-to-career pathways for students and job seekers who will be the future of industries across the four counties that they serve. OMJ Area 15 leverages VR simulations in a variety of ways including career exploration at their offices as well as a variety of community events.
VR simulations empower the team at OMJ Area 15 to give job seekers unique opportunities to investigate occupations and build skills without specialized equipment or facilities. Since partnering with Transfr, they’ve served almost 1,000 distinct career exploration users who’ve explored over 1,600 simulations. Over 100 people have engaged with the Virtual Training Facility simulations as well, completing over 550 simulations.
| Stat Box | |
|---|---|
| Date started: May 2022 | Simulations Explored: 2,166 |
| Groups Served: Adult job seekers, high school students, dislocated workers, reentr) | Main use case: Career exploration, skills training for job readiness |
| Number served: 1,000+ | |
Job seekers love using VR to build career pathways
The first step for many job seekers is a visit to an Ohio Means Jobs Area 15 office. Without a clear idea of what opportunities are available to them or which roles might fit their skills and inclinations, taking the first step on a new career pathway can seem extremely daunting — bordering on impossible! VR career exploration gives users immersive experiences in a variety of jobs and VR training simulations can help them build the skills they need to succeed in a new role quickly and efficiently.
I’ve loved seeing the kids in our area schools being able to explore careers they may have not known about. Transfr has been great and so accommodating and has given our area great opportunities. I look forward to seeing more of the simulations in the future.
Ohio Means Jobs Area 15 Expands VR Reach at Community Events
Having access to VR is a game-changer for the team at OMJ Area 15. The portability of the Transfr headsets allows the team to bring them to a variety of community events, helping overcome transportation challenges and meet community members where they’re at — literally. From career days and career fairs to after-school programs and summer camps, wherever there are job seekers and students eager to create their personal career pathways, the OMJ Area 15 team can be there! And it’s about more than just showing up and handing out some headsets. The OMJ Area 15 team has created custom banners and handouts to spark interest among their audiences. Social media and online presence are also vital parts of their success story — VR is a hot, new technology and makes people excited (students especially).
Having access to VR is a game-changer for the team at OMJ Area 15. The portability of the Transfr headsets allows the team to bring them to a variety of community events, helping overcome transportation challenges and meet community members where they’re at — literally. From career days and career fairs to after-school programs and summer camps, wherever there are job seekers and students eager to create their personal career pathways, the OMJ Area 15 team can be there!
And it’s about more than just showing up and handing out some headsets. The OMJ Area 15 team has created custom banners and handouts to spark interest among their audiences. Social media and online presence are also vital parts of their success story — VR is a hot, new technology and makes people excited (students especially).
Starting students on the right career pathway with VR
Community events and other one-off experiences are important ways that OMJ Area 15 connects with the public, but this dedicated team also goes directly into schools to help students explore careers and start thinking about their futures. Partnering with in-school counselors and CTE instructors, they bring this industry-leading technology to students to give them access to experiences and occupations that they might otherwise not have investigated.
One of the challenges of teaching career technical education with limited resources is finding a curriculum that students look forward to learning. The Transfr VR system easily solves this. Students are instantly engaged and tracking their progress is extremely easy to do. This system is definitely a game changer!
