Driven by a shared strategy in support of the mining industry and to extend their leadership, Immersive Technologies and ICOM Productions today announced that they have entered into an exclusive Strategic Alliance. By combining Immersive Technologies’ Advanced Equipment Simulators and Professional Services, along with ICOM Productions’ tailored eLearning and Instructor Led Training development services, Immersive Technologies can now offer a complete Blended Learning Solution. These Blended Learning Solutions will deliver unparalleled training effectiveness and efficiencies, allowing for the dissemination of best practice training packages, with the organizational capabilities to ensure every solution is perfectly tailored to the customer’s specific workforce development challenges.

The shortage of machine operators within the mining industry is a well-documented issue. However, Immersive Technologies’ singular focus on the mining industry highlighted an unaddressed root cause being a lack of skilled trainers. This global shortage of skilled trainers presents the most significant bottleneck to the output of machine operators for the industry. Further, common training practices reduce organizational capacity to engage trainers in higher value activities such as coaching, feedback and simulation centric continuous improvement and other strategic workforce initiatives.

By utilizing ICOM Production’s eLearning and Instructor Led Training, in conjunction with Immersive Technologies’ Advanced Equipment Simulators, organizations can increase the ratio of machine operators to skilled trainers, freeing skilled trainers for activities where they add most value. Integrated as part of a tailored Blended Learning Solution, total operator training time and trainer overhead are significantly reduced and effectiveness increased.

Following an extensive formal partner selection process, Immersive Technologies identified ICOM Productions as the only eLearning and Instructor Led Training partner that met all the attributes required to deliver results to the mining industry. This selection process included validating ICOM’s extensive experience in catering to the mining industry, coupled with its unparalleled level of customer advocacy. Additionally, ICOM Productions has an established suite of eLearning content for heavy equipment including Haul Trucks, Excavators, Dozers, Graders and virtually every other piece of machinery found at a mine, along with courses covering the entire mining process, with topics including human resources, plant operation and maintenance. ICOM Productions also demonstrated it had the capability and capacity with over 100 dedicated staff and a highly scalable structure, providing the flexibility to grow and develop tailored materials for the entire mining industry.

With the mining industry demanding turnkey solutions tailored to their workforce development needs, Immersive Technologies and ICOM Productions are uniquely positioned to offer the only complete and scalable solution on the market, backed by unparalleled organizational capabilities.

Peter Salfinger, the Chief Executive Officer of Immersive Technologies said "I am excited to build upon our existing Advanced Equipment Simulation packages and Professional Services, to offer a Blended Learning Operator training solution for our customers. I am also delighted that we can now offer training solutions to the entire mine, including human resources, plant operations and maintenance." ICOM Productions President, Greg Surbey, added "We are delighted to form this exclusive Strategic Alliance with Immersive Technologies and share the benefits our existing customers receive every day, to the global market via Immersive Technologies' channels. Only ICOM Productions offers the mining expertise and production capacity to provide the custom eLearning and Instructor Led Training services that the mining industry demands".

Immersive Technologies will be exhibiting their state-of-the-art operator training technologies including eLearning, along with a number of complementary products and technologies new to the mining industry later this month at MINExpo, September 24 to 26, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Central Hall Stand 8193.