A North East immersive technology company was recently invited to showcase how it is helping to meet the green skills demand at a landmark Expo.
Fuzzy Logic Studio was one of 24 businesses exhibiting at the Green Trade and Investment Expo, held last week at the Sage Gateshead. Hosted by the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the event brought together UK businesses and global investors to capitalise on commercial opportunities triggered by the country's quest to reach net zero. Company director, Harvey Trent, joined representatives from two other immersive providers in the region on a central stand coordinated by PROTO, Digital Catapult North East Tees Valley, and Invest North East England.
Trent said: "The event at the Sage was a fantastic way for the region to showcase how it is leading the drive to grow the green economy. As a local SME, the opportunity to demonstrate the work we are doing to bridge the future skills gaps is immensely valuable. We want to thank all the roleplayers who made this possible."
The software development firm based in North Shields specialises in Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) learning tools designed to build the skills required for a flourishing green economy. During the event, Trent had the opportunity to demonstrate the company's Emerging Skills app. The AR platform is being used nationally as part of The Emerging Skills Project in Electrification - a pilot geared towards making the country a world leader in battery technology, power electronics, motors and drives. It trains technicians and engineers on the safe assembly and disassembly of EV batteries, motors, and connectors using tactile learning methods.
Analysis by the government's Green Jobs Taskforce estimates that over 1.2 million jobs could be created within the manufacturing and construction sectors in a green economy by 2050.
If the UK is to meet its ambitious net zero targets, organisations, educational institutions, and training providers must find ways of rapidly closing the skills gaps. Analysis by the government's Green Jobs Taskforce estimates that over 1.2 million jobs could be created within the manufacturing and construction sectors in a green economy by 2050. However, according to Make UK, less than half of manufacturers are confident that the present education and training market can deliver the skills needed now and in the future. A shortage of young people pursuing careers in STEM also presents another hurdle.
Trent added: "Immersive technologies, such as Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, can accurately recreate real-world scenarios and provide practical 'hands-on' training to learners of all ages. Industry research has shown that these visualisation and simulation tools can reduce training times and improve knowledge retention. This makes them an attractive option for organisations, educational institutions, and training providers seeking to reskill, upskill and new-skill both the current and future workforce."
Fuzzy Logic Studio was recently awarded a share of £4 million from the Driving the Electric Revolution challenge, delivered by Innovate UK for UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), to develop a free-to-play immersive gaming platform for underrepresented youth aged 11-19. It is collaborating with The Blair Project, a Black-owned STEM education provider in Manchester, to build the ProtoEV 4 Skills app, which will teach vehicle design, electric vehicle (EV) propulsion and invention skills.
