Sandwell College has been applauded for its groundbreaking Virtual Reality interview preparation classes in Tes Magazine!
The article by Kate Parker describes how the College is reaping the rewards of AI-assisted careers education:
“What if there was an approach that involved little teacher input and had been shown to have great results? Sandwell College, in the West Midlands, may have found such an approach. There, students don virtual reality headsets and are transported into a boardroom, where they are met by avatars who conduct the interview in real time.”
The VR experience is split into three modules: managing anxiety through breathing techniques, personality tests to highlight strengths and suitable careers, and finally the practice interview. Students later watch from a third-person perspective – the ‘bodyswap’ to assess their performance.
The College has been working with Bodyswaps software company to help them develop their VR programmes for students. 73 per cent of students who used VR said they were able to identify areas for improvement for their own professional communication skills.
