Costa and Melbourne Polytechnic were proud participants in the Victorian Government’s Workforce Training Innovation Showcase held recently at the Melbourne Convention Centre.
The Victorian Minister for Training, Gayle Tierney experienced firsthand the new virtual reality (VR) mushroom harvesting training tool which is being developed by Costa, Melbourne Polytechnic and VR technology company, Liminal.
$1.6 million funding from the Victorian Government’s Workforce Training & Innovation Fund is being used to develop state-of-the-art VR technology designed to revolutionise the training of the mushroom harvesting workforce. The technology promises gains in productivity and safety – and its multi-lingual delivery is perfect for the Costa’s predominantly migrant workers, many of who have English as a second language.
The VR training environment mirrors the harvesting operations of the mushroom farm but does not impact business output. It allows potential employees to fully understand the job and skill requirements before committing to the role, allowing prospective harvesters to ‘try before they buy’.
