Grant: Engage Grants Program
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
$24,743.00
VR framework as a non-literacy alternative to increase work readiness awareness for job seekers**
EF 2018-19
Résumé
A lack of skilled workers has created a labour shortage of around 361,700 jobs across the country, with 150,000 of those jobs openings in Ontario and a 2.4% concentration on the natural resources sector according to the 2017 Q3 quarterly report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. There is a critical disconnect between industry demand for skilled workers and the number of trained workers entering the workforce due to a lack of readiness resulting in failure to attract an increase the rate of entrance into skills trades associated with the natural resources sector. ORIGIN is an Indigenous owned Canadian company that focuses on enhancing workforce readiness, build capacity and create employment pathways for the long-term. Origin's goal is to strengthen Indigenous communities and increase access to skilled workers in a safe and culturally secure manner. A major barrier to filling entry-level positions is matching the job seeker's career path with their expectations for the job. Currently, ORIGIN has developed two 360-degree videos that immerse job seekers in an experiential guided tour that virtually transports users into the worksite to provide them with relevant information about the job, safety issues and career expectations. However, 360 videos limit the experience to what was recorded and the scene being shown, where the user sits and watch only controlling the camera movement without any interactions. This project will develop a VR framework that allows adding customisable interactivity and exploration features to increase immersion, presence and engagement to 360-degree videos focusing on relevant information associated with work-readiness. Results from this study will be used to inform ORIGIN about job seeker's perception of the VR tool that can determine content improvements to match job expectations and career paths. Furthermore, the study will provide grounds to explore other applications within ORIGIN'S services to attract job seekers to similar industries across Canada suffering from a lack of skilled workers.
Programme
Engage Grants Program
Bénéficiaire
Emplacement
Ontario, Canada
Type de bénéficiaire
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
Tel que publié
Application id
537370-2018
Name nom
UribeQuevedo, Alvaro
Department département
Business and Information Technology, Faculty of
Organization id
19222
Institution établissement
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Province en
Ontario
Province fr
Ontario
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2018
Competition year année de concours
2018
Award amount
24743
Program id
EGP
Program name en
Engage Grants Program
Program name fr
Programme de subventions d'engagement partenariat
Group en
Research partnerships programs
Group fr
Programmes de partenariat
Committee code
1553
Committee name en
Ontario Internal Decision Committee
Committee name fr
Comité de décision interne pour l'Ontario
Area of application code
1000
Area of application group en
Northern development
Area of application group fr
Développement du nord
Area of application en
Northern development
Area of application fr
Développement du nord
Research subject code
2716
Research subject group en
Information technology
Research subject group fr
Technologie de l'information
Research subject en
Virtual reality and related simulations
Research subject fr
Réalité virtuelle et simulations connexes
Partie
1
Nb partie
1
Application title
VR framework as a non-literacy alternative to increase work readiness awareness for job seekers**
Keyword
NSERC
Application summary
A lack of skilled workers has created a labour shortage of around 361,700 jobs across the country, with 150,000 of those jobs openings in Ontario and a 2.4% concentration on the natural resources sector according to the 2017 Q3 quarterly report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. There is a critical disconnect between industry demand for skilled workers and the number of trained workers entering the workforce due to a lack of readiness resulting in failure to attract an increase the rate of entrance into skills trades associated with the natural resources sector. ORIGIN is an Indigenous owned Canadian company that focuses on enhancing workforce readiness, build capacity and create employment pathways for the long-term. Origin's goal is to strengthen Indigenous communities and increase access to skilled workers in a safe and culturally secure manner. A major barrier to filling entry-level positions is matching the job seeker's career path with their expectations for the job. Currently, ORIGIN has developed two 360-degree videos that immerse job seekers in an experiential guided tour that virtually transports users into the worksite to provide them with relevant information about the job, safety issues and career expectations. However, 360 videos limit the experience to what was recorded and the scene being shown, where the user sits and watch only controlling the camera movement without any interactions. This project will develop a VR framework that allows adding customisable interactivity and exploration features to increase immersion, presence and engagement to 360-degree videos focusing on relevant information associated with work-readiness. Results from this study will be used to inform ORIGIN about job seeker's perception of the VR tool that can determine content improvements to match job expectations and career paths. Furthermore, the study will provide grounds to explore other applications within ORIGIN'S services to attract job seekers to similar industries across Canada suffering from a lack of skilled workers.
