The “college is best” attitude has meant that many young people have been encouraged to get a degree instead of choosing a vocational career. Parents, schools, and the media pushed the idea that vocational careers are only for those who can’t “make it” in a traditional college setting.
A vocational career path has been unappealing to many millennials and Gen Zers. They’ve spent their school years in a fast-paced and highly academic environment; moving to a hands-on training environment with repetitive tasks often isn’t engaging enough for them.
What’s required is the reframing of vocational careers as interesting, engaging, and offering an enjoyable training process.
A Recent Shift Towards Vocational Training
There has been a notable shift toward vocational training in recent years. Between 2020 and 2023, trade school enrollments grew by 4.9%, while traditional higher education enrollments declined by 0.6% during the same period. In fall 2023, community colleges focused on vocational training experienced a 16% increase in enrollment, reaching approximately 813,000 students. This trend is driven by factors such as the rising cost of four-year degrees and a growing recognition of the value of skills-based education. Additionally, vocational programs have contributed to an overall 2.6% increase in higher education enrollment from spring 2023 to spring 2024, reversing previous declines. These developments indicate a significant movement toward vocational training as a viable and attractive educational pathway.
There is Still a Significant Need for Skilled Workers
While there has been increased interest in vocational jobs, the retirement of Baby Boomers presents significant challenges in recruiting and upskilling within the workforce. Analysts predict that manufacturing in the U.S. alone will involve 3.5 million jobs — but 57% of these will go unfilled.
As this substantial segment exits their roles, organizations face a “knowledge gap,” losing decades of experience and expertise that are difficult to replace.
This mass retirement contributes to labor shortages across various industries, intensifying competition for skilled talent and increasing recruitment and training costs. To address these challenges, companies are adopting several strategies:
- Flexible Work Arrangements: Implementing phased retirement programs and offering part-time positions to retain older employees longer.
- Mentorship Programs: Encouraging knowledge transfer from seasoned workers to younger employees to preserve institutional expertise.
- Targeted Recruitment: Actively seeking to hire retirees or older workers to fill critical roles and leverage their experience.
- Upskilling Initiatives: Investing in training programs to equip existing staff and new hires with the necessary skills to fill the void left by retiring employees.
By proactively implementing these measures, organizations can mitigate the impact of Baby Boomer retirements and ensure a smoother transition in maintaining a skilled and capable workforce.
Beyond the shortage of people who are qualified and interested in these roles, these industries are still having increased difficulty filling roles because those workers who do want to work in blue-collar sectors tend to learn and perform better in training environments that are wildly different from those used by older generations.
New Tech, New Roles: The Key To Inspiring Vocational Careers
Another cause for such a change in attitude toward vocational careers is the development of technology in manufacturing, construction, and transport.
The many applications of artificial intelligence in blue-collar industries are creating a wealth of new technology-based roles for skilled workers. The generation that grew up not knowing what life was like before Google is the one now entering the workforce. They’re the ones well ahead of their older peers when it comes to using and understanding technological developments — and blue-collar industries can use this technology to capture their imaginations and fill the talent vacuum.
How Gamified Training Encourages New Talent
Game and simulation-based training is proving to be very successful in increasing engagement of the younger workforce.
Caterpillar, the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, is using game-based simulators as a recruitment tool, providing today’s students with an understanding of machine controls and operating procedures before they enter the workforce. Cat simulators provide hands-on learning safely and economically to enhance traditional operator training programs.
Eutaw Construction, a Mississippi construction company, introduced simulators to train new workers. More than a mouse click, these simulators use pedals, throttles, and levers just like a real vehicle.
Screen-based training can help users switch between a range of site scenarios within minutes, providing a wider range of training. Rapid-change environments that test their skills without moving from the simulator can help trainees qualify a quarter of the time.
Virtual reality simulators also provide a safe training zone where errors won’t have real-life consequences. The “fail-safe” environment allows people to focus on learning without the fear of making mistakes that could cost a company thousands of dollars to rectify.
Gamification Increases Learning Potential
Active learning is believed to produce a greater retention rate than reading materials. Companies can tap into the hands-on learning of virtual and augmented reality training to take it one step further with gamification.
Points-scoring, leader boards, and scenario-based knowledge tests bring an element of competition to training that the digital native generation engages with more than traditional learning environments allow.
Introducing game elements also helps trainees use immediate feedback for faster improvement. For example, those at the bottom of the leaderboards will want to know where they’re doing wrong and analyze the winners for improvement tips.
Introducing Vocational Careers To Younger People Via Gamification
What about captivating the imaginations of those yet to choose their career paths?
Simulator apps with a gamified element encourage younger people to engage with the idea of working in vocational industries before they make their career choices. Design Interactive, for example, developed an augmented reality app to introduce the idea of being a truck technician as a fun career option.
The use of augmented reality widens the audience: Unlike virtual reality, which requires a specific headset, anyone with a smartphone can use augmented reality. The app uses the camera to overlay real-world scenarios with virtual elements to help immediate, go-anywhere engagement.
What’s Next For Gamified Training?
Younger people want stable careers with opportunities for promotion, progression, and respectable earnings. Gamified simulators create an opportunity to demonstrate the possibilities available to those choosing vocational careers.
By rolling out game-based learning, employers can also allow existing staff to conduct advanced skills training. Apps and simulators mean older staff can try out new technology and techniques in the same safe training environment as new apprentices.
Companies in struggling sectors should invest in virtual and augmented reality gamified training solutions now, and find themselves ahead of the competition when it’s time for all the baby boomers to retire.
Learn more here about how ELB Learning can help create custom immersive game-based learning experiences to support hands-on vocational training experiences that build real-world skills.
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