Interplay Learning Success Story

Overview

Since 2016, Austin-based Interplay Learning has been building better training, better careers and better lives for its customers and their employees. Its award-winning online and VR training for the essential skilled trades, including HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Solar, Multi-Family Maintenance and Facilities Maintenance workforces, is scalable and more effective than traditional training methods. 

By leveraging immersive learning technology, Interplay’s customers are able to train and practice hands-on learning from a desktop, phone, tablet or in virtual reality. The result is a highly trained employee who is job-ready in weeks, not years. Its digital experiential learning platform, SkillMill, conveniently turns any space into a training lab with its short video courses, 3D simulations, knowledge checks, coaching, community, and connectivity. 

Recent accolades include recognition by Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards in the Education, General Excellence and On the Rise categories. Welcome to the next generation of the skilled labor workforce. Visit https://www.interplaylearning.com/ to learn more.

Interplay Learning needed voice narration for their HVAC, Electrical and Plumbing catalogs.

Transforming Africa’s Skilled Trades Training

Interplay Learning, the leading global provider of online and VR training for the essential skilled trades, is closing the skilled trades gap for businesses in Africa. Interplay’s unique, highly effective online 3D and virtual reality simulations for the HVAC, plumbing, electrical, solar and facilities maintenance workforces will rapidly prepare one million South Africans for careers in the skilled trades by 2025. An additional five million people on the continent will be trained in the future.  

“Interplay Learning is working with learning organizations across South Africa to provide in-demand training to close the skills gap and get South Africans jobs,” Braden Bronson, VP of Content Operations said.

“On September 12th, 2022, we went live with an electrical program that aligns learners’ skills with in-demand positions in South Africa with plans to launch programs for HVAC, Plumbing, and Handyman pathways in the coming months.”  

Interplay Learning used Voices to provide voice narration for their HVAC catalog with a Spanish talent in 2020 and are now wrapping up a Electrical Catalog for South Africa, soon to be moving on to Plumbing.

“To date, Interplay has localized nearly sixty hours of educational content for South Africa with the help of Voices. We partnered with Voices in January of 2022 to be the voice of our South African content. We found ourselves with a monumental project that required significant voice over work on a tight timeline,” Bronson continued.

“Voices provided excellent project management that worked closely with our subject matter experts and translators to quickly bring video and simulation content to life in the South African context.”

Bronson said Voices enabled Interplay to scale their voice over and localization process overnight with excellent casting of voice talent that they could share with their partners in South Africa.  

“Not only did Voices provide excellent voice over talent, but their project managers allowed us to get timely revisions in a complex work environment,” he said. 

Africa has long experienced a shortage of skilled trades workers, and South Africa presently faces a 34.4% rate of youth unemployment, while 60% of all unemployed have never worked a day due to a lack of skills and no job availability.

“Localizing content for another continent brought with it a host of challenges both foreseen and unforeseen. Together we overcame complex localization and voicing challenges including: converting imperial measurements to metric, staying on top of trades specific terminology, and converting electrical properties across regions,” Bronson explained.

Interplay Africa’s online and VR technology is changing this by democratizing skilled trades training within Africa’s cities and suburbs, including some remote areas where bringing in equipment for hands-on learning isn’t possible. Learners will practice on-demand, hands-on skills through Interplay’s platform that enables them to be job-ready in weeks, not years.

“Looking forward, we have confidence that together with Voices we will be able to continue to scale our localization operations globally in a way that we hadn’t previously imagined,” he said.

“Interplay is excited to continue this work with Voices to empower ever more learners in South Africa to find better careers and better lives.”

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