Why immersive training is the future of workplace learning

Using immersive, augmented reality (AR) workplace training, companies can increase knowledge retention rates among learners by 20%. This was the finding of a recent study by ABI Research.

Given this tremendous efficiency advantage, it’s hardly surprising that AR is one of the fastest-growing trends in workplace training. Indeed, according to one source, its adoption rate is now more than 18% a year.

Why are so many firms investing in innovative immersive AR technologies? Because AR helps them train their employees faster, with superior results, at lower cost, and with less risk.

Immersive training with AR is especially useful for companies in areas such as manufacturing, logistics, and infrastructure. In particular, it helps them overcome the challenges of training on live systems. Here, we’ll explore immersive learning in greater detail, the key pain points that it solves, as well as the main benefits for your business.

In this article:

• What challenges does immersive training with AR help you overcome?
• What is immersive, AR-based training?
• What are the benefits of AR-based training?
• Summary  

By 2028, the manufacturing sector worldwide will have 10 million unfilled vacancies for skilled workers. To close this skills gap, companies need to train at scale and speed.

They need to do it safely, without risk to workers or expensive equipment. They can't afford to overuse their existing, expensive experts as trainers. They also need to avoid the costs of unplanned downtime.

According to ABI Research, training is a “use case leader”, with companies quickly realizing the benefits AR can bring to their training efforts. “Using AR and VR in employee training is among the most mature and widely adopted use cases in enterprise,” the report explains. “XR helps employees with realistic and interactive experiences, helping employees gain a deeper understanding of complex/abstract concepts, apply knowledge, and practice skills in secure environments.”

What is immersive, AR-based training?  

AR runs on a device which lets the user view real or virtual objects. This could be a tablet or smartphone.

When the learner looks at an object, the AR technology overlays that object with prompts and cues. These change as the learner works through the task they’re training on.

Think of a new engineer learning how to service an assembly line. This is a highly complex, mission-critical system. It’s difficult to learn and downtime is not an option.

An immersive AR-training solution can prompt the engineer with cues and hints. It can do this overlaid on top of the real assembly line or a virtual simulation of the assembly line.

Reasons to use immersive AR training:

• By allowing you to interact with a virtual simulation of your production systems, you can train more than one employee at once, independent of location.
  
• Cut training costs by reducing or eliminating the need for on-site classroom sessions, materials, travel time, and more.
• Design training content that combines realism, cost efficiency, and safety, without compromising the learner experience.
• Because it’s a connected, digitized system, AR continuously collects learner data, so you can optimize your training in real time and track progress.
• AR provides a realistic, low-stress environment, which encourages and enables learner engagement and motivation.  

What are the benefits of AR-based training?

Using AR in this way accelerates learning and minimizes errors. This reduces the risk of unplanned downtime and cuts costs by making training more effective.

What does this mean for you? By using AR in your training, you can:

• Train faster, learn better: Speed up training without sacrificing depth.
• Faster ramp-up: Flatter learning curves lead to faster time-to-productivity.
• Save resources: Make training sessions more independent of time and place.
• Sustain knowledge: Easily transfer knowledge into digital solutions.
• Improve quality: Better training ensures a highly qualified workforce.
• Stay flexible: Effortlessly update your training to match evolving needs.

According to the study by ABI Research, using AR enables companies to achieve their training goals up to four times faster than they would using conventional classroom-based training and one and a half times faster even than modern e-learning platforms.