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After identifying one of the main challenges that the UK construction industry is facing today as attracting young people into the trade, The Scottish Plant Owners Association (SPOA) is striving to help change this by trying to entice young people into the world of plant and construction.
As a result, the SPOA is supporting the Scottish Government’s youth employment strategy by offering their excavator simulator at various careers events across the country over the next 12 months. The virtual reality (VR) simulator, along with an operator, will be supplied free of charge to each event.
The excavator simulator immerses users in a virtual environment, giving them the experience of operating an excavator, with the chance to perform some typical on-site tasks such as loading and unloading, positioning, picking up and handling loads and movement efficiency and accuracy. Additionally, the simulator is mounted on an electric motion platform, which enables the operator to get instant feedback of the machine movements and a genuine feel of what operating an excavator would be like.
The SPOA hopes that using the excavator simulator will spark an interest in Scotland’s youth to consider a career in the construction industry, where demand is high for skilled labour and opportunities for progression are abundant.
A number of dates and locations have already been agreed, starting from November 2019 to June 2020 and stretching from the Highlands to the Scottish Borders, as listed below. This means there will be plenty of opportunities to reach young people all over Scotland and encourage them to think about starting their career in construction.
On the following dates you can find the SPOA’s VR excavator simulator in the corresponding areas, look out for the careers events in areas near you.
· 6th November 2019 – The Highlands
· 7th November 2019 – Dundee & Angus
· 11th November 2019 – Forth Valley
· 25th & 26th November 2019 – West of Scotland
· 19th February 2020 – West Lothian
· 4th March 2020 – Lanarkshire
· May 2020 – Argyll
· 16th or 17th June 2020 – The Borders