What poles are you learners climbing?

We were interested to hear about OpenReach’s use of immersive simulations to safely train new engineers in the skills they will need to help the firm in its plans to provide 12m homes with superfast broadband by 2020.

This helps demonstrate the value of games and simulations in today’s fast moving learning and development environment. They’re fun, they’re safe, they’re scalable.

We also love playing with the analogy of climbing poles. For OpenReach this is literal but for most the concept may be more metaphorical. We know games can help learners climb whatever poles they need to in order to progress in their school or professional careers.

How so? Well, we are forever hearing the grumbles about getting people away from their screens. Perhaps we need to think differently, embrace the millennial urge to glue themselves to technology and pump engaging learning through to them via phones and tablets, Macs and PCs

We’re sure scaling a telegraph pole has its challenges and we know climbing the greasy pole of corporate life can also be fraught with hazards. Employers increasingly complain that new starters lack the interpersonal skills needed to survive and thrive in today’s politically complex and ever-changing work environments.

So why not turn to what many see as the cause of the problem for a potential solution. Technology-based business skills, really? Yes! We have seen fever-pitch levels of interaction and engagement caused by serious games that are seen as more interesting, addictive and relevant than some traditional modes of learning.

And of course, the emblem of our business at Totem is a pole. Traditionally used to represent stories and important events why not find out more about ours?