Job Service North Dakota is partnering with North Dakota-based virtual reality studio Be More Colorful to help career seekers explore different career paths. Beginning in July, Be More Colorful's career exploration product, CareerViewXR, (CVXR) will be available to Job Service clients. This 12-month pilot project will bring immersive media and virtual reality content into the Bismarck Workforce Center.
“This is an important partnership because it allows us to put clients into these very realistic environments to test-drive a job,” said Job Service ND Executive Director Pat Bertagnolli. “The virtual reality experience is extremely powerful. People see themselves in specific environments doing real tasks and they know right away if it’s a place they can see themselves feeling comfortable and capable. The CareerViewXR experience is encouraging and inspiring. We hope to be able to bring it to all nine of our Workforce Centers across the state.”
As part of this engagement, Be More Colorful will be producing up to five CareerViewXR virtual reality experiences at Bismarck-area employers to help Job Service create a strong local connection. These five career experiences will be part of an additional set of 24 current career experiences accessible at the Bismarck Workforce Center as well as to CVXR subscribers in career services offices and schools around the United States.
Be More Colorful CEO Matt Chaussee said, "We're incredibly excited about the opportunity to help job seekers explore industries and trades that they've never before been able to see in person. Career exploration is one of the most important components in making an effective career decision, but traditional job shadows and field trips are limited in capacity, difficult to schedule, and have all sorts of financial, time, safety, geographic and privacy constraints. With CareerViewXR, whether its standing on an active wellsite, observing a trauma team inside an emergency room, or catching the view from the top of a live construction site, career seekers are provided an opportunity to explore all sorts of career pathways in a safe, efficient, cost-effective, and fun manner.
"We're honored that Job Service ND sees CareerViewXR as a solution to help the clients they serve make more effective career choices and we are looking forward to creating content that helps build stronger relationships between Job Service, Bismarck area employers, and the clients they serve,” Chaussee said.
The CareerViewXR platform is intended for audiences of all ages. In addition to being used at Job Service, the platform has growing use in K-12 districts across North Dakota as well as from subscribers outside of the state.
“This technology is helpful to us in a variety of ways,” said Workforce Services Director Phil Davis. “It is a tool to enhance meaningful career conversations with clients in our Workforce Center.”
Bertagnolli invites Bismarck-area businesses who would like to be considered as a filming location for a virtual reality experience to contact Job Service at 701-328-5000.