The augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) market currently stands at a global valuation of USD 31 Bn. Spurred by the success of Facebook’s Oculus Rift and the latest technological shift ‘Metaverse,’ the market is expected to reach USD 198 Bn in 2025.
With the technology evolving and tapping into different industries, it also adds unparalleled efficiency in the workplace. This article explores the hype around augmented reality technology and how enterprises can build an AR-ready workforce for the future with AI-powered talent intelligence platforms.
The Exploding Demand of AR
The pandemic accelerated several technological developments in various industries that were already underway. This forced many market leaders to become familiar with AR, AI, IoT, and other in-demand technologies. Of all the technologies, AR has come a long way, from a niche technology to a growing trend across industries.
When Covid-19 temporarily disrupting several sectors, AR applications overhauled the market with virtual experiences — ranging from previewing furniture in your home to virtually trying fashion accessories. Since then, the technology often touted as an optional feature, has steadfastly become an imperative for numerous businesses.
With the augmented reality revolution underway, we see a horde of companies relying on AR for new operations and other critical areas to take on tasks. In the following sections, we deep dive into the areas that are must-haves for building a workforce armed with AR/VR skills.
The Must-Haves of AR Talent: Exploring the Skills
A confluence of growth factors in the augmented reality space has propelled organizations to extend their reskilling process and develop a workforce around the technology.
Major tech players using AR have reported average productivity improvements of 32%. And as organizations reimagine strategies to embrace the future of work, we take a look at the skills required for an AR-ready workforce.
Hands-on with the right programming language & platform: The transformation journey from a disrupted role to an in-demand role like AR/VR Engineer starts from the basics — learning the ideal programming language.
While there is also another requirement of getting used to popular platforms assisting in building AR/VR products such as Unity and Unreal Engine. However, hands-on experience with programming languages, including Python, JavaScript, C++, C#, or Swift, is a must to make the most out of these platforms.
Understanding the 3D Tools: Next is to gain experience around prominent 3D Graphics Software tools such as Maya, 3DsMax, or Substance. These are a few of the tools leveraged by designers to create 3D character models, game assets, animations, etc.
Talent managers must acquaint their traditional workforce with these robust software applications to create ground-breaking AR and VR experiences.
As the demand continues to rise for Augmented Reality, many enterprises push to embrace the emerging field with reskilling and upskilling programs using talent intelligence platforms. We now decipher the role of reskilling in fueling the future of the workplace with AR-ready skillsets.
Why Reskilling becomes imperative?
Given the current talent crisis in digital skill areas, including augmented reality, several companies are concerned about their ability to acquire specific skills to make their AR initiatives a success. And as businesses and major retailers continue pouring investments in the technology, the need for reskilling the traditional IT workforce has now been supercharged.
While the pathway to reskilling the existing personnel with AR skills is inundated with a different set of challenges, integrating AI-powered talent intelligence platforms can simplify this entire skill-building process.
The handiness of talent intelligence platforms such as Draup in providing data-backed insights with a thorough analysis of the AR talent market ensures companies have a hassle-free transition to this immersive tech.
The AI-driven analytical platform chalks out a comprehensive reskilling pathway with essential parameters, including the skills required and relevant skill gap-bridging curriculum/certification programs offered by worldwide institutions/universities. Draup makes sure that your company stays ahead of the curve when it comes to labor trends.