A $1.48 million grant will bring 46 virtual reality headsets to the Upper Cumberland for workforce development.
UC Workforce Board Executive Director Becky Hull said the headsets will encourage career growth through training. Hull said the initiative aims to focus on rural futures.
“We know that we have some really brilliant minds in the Upper Cumberland who are in rural areas who might not have access to career exploration opportunities,” Hull said. “We wanted to take that opportunity to the rural areas.”
Hull said the Meta headsets have arrived at the Workforce office and will be distributed as soon as possible. Hull said each Meta headset includes training programs customized for specific job requirements. Hull said while they plan to use this for departments across the city, an example would be a future doctor using the headset to practice knee surgery virtually.
“This last year, we partnered with a Naval company that trains Naval fighter pilots and so just that alone showed me the vast opportunities in AI,” Hull said. “And so I thought, we have got to get these in the hands of the residents in the Upper Cumberland.”
Hull said that when she observed her employees using the headsets, older employees appeared less comfortable working with the technology. Hull said the program’s goal, in addition to promoting career advancement, is to introduce the older generation to AI tools in a safe and respectful way.
“When I was writing the grant, I knew there were people out there just like me who were very curious but did not want to have an audience when they were exploring the possibilities with AI,” Hull said.” That’s what, you know, caused me to believe there are folks out there that would be interested to participate.”
