Gaming can help with labour force skills
THE past few years have seen plenty of predictions that technological developments like automation and artificial intelligence (AI) could massively disrupt workforces globally.
South Africa’s own labour force, with its heavy dependence on sectors such as mining and agriculture, hasn’t been immune from these doom-andgloom predictions.
But automation and AI don’t have to spell disaster. In fact, with the right skills, workers can thrive in a fast-changing workplace.
Far from the task-oriented skills that have been predominant since the industrial revolution, the workforce of the future will require much more “human” skills.
As the World Economic Forum (WEF) noted in its 2018 Future of Jobs Report, these skills include creativity, originality and initiative, critical thinking, persuasion and negotiation – all of which would retain or increase their value.
Rather than looking for new staff with these skills, organisations should retrain their existing staff. And instead of packing off everyone into classrooms and hoping they just “get it” (an approach that seldom works), organisations should look to gaming, as well as augmented reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies to help build skills.
Fortunately, we’re long past the stage where people think of gaming as something that “kids do”.
With the ubiquity of smartphones, everyone is a gamer now. If you’ve played Candy Crush while waiting in line for your driver’s licence, you’re a gamer.
It’s well established that gaming fosters a variety of skills, including teamwork, collaboration and problem-solving.
Companies around the globe have realised that these are the kind of skills they increasingly need, and that gaming can help their workers develop these skills in a way that’s engaging and fun.
Unlike traditional skills development, gaming allows people to experience real progress as they move up a game’s levels.
Because smart devices are so universally accessible, games can be used for everything from on-boarding drivers for a courier company to allowing actuaries to demonstrate their problem-solving skills for prizes.
Add in AR and VR, and things only get more exciting. Over the past few years, organisations have used these technologies to incredible effect for workplace training.
The US Marines, for instance, have been using Augmented Immersive Team Trainer (AITT) since 2014.
The system works by injecting virtual images – indirect-fire effects, aircraft, vehicles, simulated people etc, on to a real-world view of one’s surroundings. As a result, soldiers can experience an almost infinite variety of scenarios with just a few tweaks of an algorithm.
If South Africa wants to remain competitive on the world stage, it needs to equip its workforce with the skills outlined by the WEF.
Companies globally are using gaming and its attendant technologies to provide their staff with the skills they need to thrive in the future. Local businesses need to do the same.