University of Texas at Austin: Simulated Workplace Builds Skills, Confidence
You wake up on time, take the kids to day care, and arrive at the high-tech
manufacturing plant 10 minutes before the day starts in time to grab a cup of
coffee and chat with other members of your project team. By the end of the day,
you’ve participated in two conferences and shipped a product to market.
You leave in time to pick up the kids and get organized for the next day.
Sound like a typical day in the life of a U.S. employee? Well, it could be
real—or it could be EnterTech. An innovative twist on work-preparedness
training, EnterTech combines instructor-led classroom learning with a Web-based
simulated high-tech environment. Students inhabit a virtual plant—called
EnterTech—to engage in role play exercises, solve problems, collaborate
on projects, and learn how to succeed in the world of work.
The solution is beautiful in its simplicity. Immerse people in a high-tech
environment as you work with them to develop skills they need in that environment.
Substituting a virtual company for a real one not only guarantees a consistent,
flexible, modular learning environment, it also reinforces the importance of
technology.
EnterTech was developed by researchers at the IC2 Institute at the University
of Texas at Austin. The researchers, who later formed a division called the
E-Learning and Training (ELT) Labs, developed training materials to address
the needs of underemployed and transitional workers, including welfare-to-work
participants, at-risk high school students, and the working poor.
The goals of the project were to impart crucial personal growth and development
skills and help people succeed at work. The Texas governor’s office funded
the project, and the Texas Workforce Commission administered the grant. The
program has received the eTexas Commission’s Best Practice Award and the
Education That Works endorsement.
“According to the United States government, the 25 fastest growing job
areas are in high-level skills areas,” says ELT Labs co-director Alexander
Cavalli. “We wanted to help people prepare for work in these fields.”
EnterTech includes some training in basic math, reading, and writing, but the
focus is on job training. Says Cavalli: “Education and training are not
the same thing. How will we maintain a highly skilled workforce unless we train
people for employment?”
EnterTech is a rich virtual environment that not only simulates the tasks and
workflow of a real manufacturing company, but also requires students to develop
their personal skills. The program teaches 44 entry-level skills in eight target
areas: job, personal, organizational, communication, number, and reading and
writing skills. The 45-hour “blended learning environment” combines
instructor-facilitated work with Web activities. There are decision-making scenarios,
group-based projects, print materials, and a self-paced curriculum that adapts
to a wide range of instructional models, learning styles, and schedules.
“Instructors act as facilitators, workforce supervisors,” says Mindy
Jackson, project manager of EnterTech. “Part of their role is to instill
a work ethic and give students inspiration. They also are critical to giving
students the social experience of work.”
Aware that personal problems hamper workplace success, EnterTech’s developers
have created a “Personal Planner,” which addresses the intersections
of life and work and covers issues such as child care, money management, and
transportation.
The program has been in place since 2000. More than 250 students across the
state of Texas have completed modules. The program is being adopted beyond Texas
to other states and to institutions in Brazil. University of Texas at Brownsville
and Texas Southmost College have adopted the curriculum to train local workers
and those transitioning into the workforce.
According to Jackson, the program has spread via the grass-roots enthusiasm
of those who have been exposed to it.
“Word has gotten out,” she says, about the program’s success.
Officials at ELT Labs point to EnterTech’s impressive outcomes: higher
GED completion rates and an increase in community college enrollment among its
graduates.
Many EnterTech grads credit the program for their salary increases and promotions.
More than 67 percent of EnterTech graduates found jobs or enrolled in future
education. This success rate, says Cavalli, matches those of four-year schools.
“That a computer program can achieve this is amazing,” he says.
For more information, contact ELT Labs, Austin, Texas, at (512) 482-0273 or
www.entertech.org.
