Work Integrated Learning (WIL) In Virtual Reality (VR)

The ultimate goal of industrialized, developed economies is to increase economic growth and to have a highly-skilled, flexible and responsive workforce in order to remain competitive in an increasingly global economic context. Therefore, there is increasing focus on exploring the various options for optimizing worker training. Apprenticeships, traineeships and internships are some examples of the applications of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) with various aims such as to enhance learner skills, provide learners with real life facilities to experience the work environment in which they have to perform in the near future and to enhance their capabilities to handle real time problems, even before they are exposed to them in the workplace. However, technology is increasingly replacing the concept of traditional learning, particularly through innovative IT approaches such as Virtual Reality (VR). Integrating both WIL and VR offers the opportunity to apply WIL in a virtual rather than real work environment as “Virtual Work Integrated Learning (VWIL)”. The focus of this report is to initially discuss the concepts WIL and VR, their main characteristics and current applications. Moreover, the pros and cons of VWIL are also analyzed. Finally, the report presents some recommendation including further researches into areas where VWIL has potential to be successful in the future.