Virtual reality (VR) is moving from entertainment into serious professional training, and emergency services are leading the way. VR means the learner wears a headset and steps into a realistic scenario, making real decisions in a safe setting. The question is whether it is a novelty or the future. The people doing the job have a clear view.

What do firefighters actually think?

In a Queensland Fire and Emergency Services poll asking whether VR is the future of training, 85 percent said yes, 10 percent said no and 5 percent were unsure. That is strong support from the people who would use it, not from a vendor.

Why the enthusiasm?

VR brings the training to the trainee, cutting travel and cost while keeping the practice realistic. Take the FLAIM Trainer: it lets a firefighter feel simulated heat and the weight of real equipment across more than 15 customisable scenarios, tailored to their own environment. The advantages that keep coming up are immersion, cost effective distributed learning, portability and repeatability.

What is the catch?

VR does not replace every live exercise, and it works best inside a clear programme with defined outcomes. Used that way, it is less a gadget and more a way to give crews far more quality repetitions than a calendar of live burns ever could.

Where does SkillsTrain fit?

SkillsTrain supplies the VR systems, online courses and books behind this shift, and supports the teams putting them to work. If you want to see VR training for yourself, we can arrange a demo.