VR framework as a non-literacy alternative to increase work readiness awareness for job seekers**

根据加拿大独立企业联合会2017年第三季度报告，熟练工人的缺乏在全国造成了约36.17万个工作岗位的劳动力短缺，其中安大略省有15万个职位空缺，2.4%集中在自然资源行业。由于缺乏准备，行业对熟练工人的需求与进入劳动力大军的训练有素的工人人数之间存在严重脱节，导致未能吸引更多人进入与自然资源部门有关的技能行业。Origin是一家土著拥有的加拿大公司，专注于增强劳动力准备、建设能力和创造长期就业途径。Origin的目标是加强土著社区，并以安全和文化保障的方式增加接触熟练工人的机会。填补入门级职位的一个主要障碍是将求职者的职业道路与他们对工作的期望相匹配。目前，Origin已经开发了两个360度视频，让求职者沉浸在体验导游中，虚拟地将用户运送到工作地点，为他们提供关于工作、安全问题和职业期望的相关信息。然而，360视频的体验仅限于录制的内容和正在显示的场景，用户坐在那里观看，只控制相机的移动，而没有任何互动。该项目将开发一个虚拟现实框架，允许添加可定制的互动和探索功能，以增加360度视频的沉浸感、临场感和参与度，重点关注与工作准备相关的相关信息。这项研究的结果将被用来让Origin了解求职者对VR工具的看法，该工具可以确定内容改进，以匹配工作期望和职业道路。此外，这项研究将为探索Origin服务中的其他应用提供依据，以吸引求职者到加拿大各地缺乏熟练工人的类似行业工作。

A lack of skilled workers has created a labour shortage of around 361,700 jobs across the country, with 150,000 of those jobs openings in Ontario and a 2.4% concentration on the natural resources sector according to the 2017 Q3 quarterly report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. There is a critical disconnect between industry demand for skilled workers and the number of trained workers entering the workforce due to a lack of readiness resulting in failure to attract an increase the rate of entrance into skills trades associated with the natural resources sector. ORIGIN is an Indigenous owned Canadian company that focuses on enhancing workforce readiness, build capacity and create employment pathways for the long-term. Origin's goal is to strengthen Indigenous communities and increase access to skilled workers in a safe and culturally secure manner. A major barrier to filling entry-level positions is matching the job seeker's career path with their expectations for the job. Currently, ORIGIN has developed two 360-degree videos that immerse job seekers in an experiential guided tour that virtually transports users into the worksite to provide them with relevant information about the job, safety issues and career expectations. However, 360 videos limit the experience to what was recorded and the scene being shown, where the user sits and watch only controlling the camera movement without any interactions. This project will develop a VR framework that allows adding customisable interactivity and exploration features to increase immersion, presence and engagement to 360-degree videos focusing on relevant information associated with work-readiness. Results from this study will be used to inform ORIGIN about job seeker's perception of the VR tool that can determine content improvements to match job expectations and career paths. Furthermore, the study will provide grounds to explore other applications within ORIGIN'S services to attract job seekers to similar industries across Canada suffering from a lack of skilled workers.