ORIGIN launches new virtual reality tools
By Rick Garrick
THUNDER BAY—ORIGIN launched two new interactive Virtual Reality (VR) tools, an ORIGIN National Advisory Council and a new brand strategy — Let’s Work Together — on Nov. 22 in Thunder Bay.
“We are always looking ahead to see what we can bring to our people,” says Melissa Hardy-Giles, owner of ORIGIN and a Red Rock Indian Band citizen. “With the 360 [degree VR tool] video, it actually immerses you within the experience. We have two [VR tools] right now and we’d like to expand it, not necessarily just with trades — we actually would like to go into the health field. The sky is the limit in what we’re able to do with it.”
ORIGIN currently offers VR workforce readiness tools that enable job seekers to experience a day in the life of an employee in the Underground Mining and Pole Line Apprentice fields in northwestern Ontario.
“We are looking for partners with other industries in order to make an experiential video, both for them to use for recruitment and for us as well,” Hardy-Giles says, noting that the VR tools were created by Toronto-based Cream Productions at Goldcorp’s Musselwhite Mine and Gridlink’s training facility. “We tried to work with them to make [the VR tools] as realistic as possible.”
Paul Giles, co-owner of ORIGIN, says the VR tools transport the users right into the worksite environment and provide them with information about the job, including safety issues, career expectations and salaries.
“You can pretty much use this for any type of job,” Giles says. “It doesn’t really matter what the occupation is, it’s the fact that you can actually replicate that environment and you can bring the job seeker to that space all within a short period of time. It allows that person to go through a number of careers in a short period of time to make an informed decision on what they want to gain more experience in.”
Hardy-Giles adds that ORIGIN’s National Advisory Council had its first meeting earlier in the day.
“With support from our new National Advisory Council, ORIGIN intends to facilitate integration and reconciliation by acting as a communication and connection mechanism between Indigenous people and employers,” Hardy-Giles says. “By working together, we can build real relationships, prepare Indigenous people for labour market opportunities and get our people to work for the long-term.”
The ORIGIN National Advisory Council features six high-profile business and political leaders from across Canada, including former Regional Chief Isadore Day and former Fort William First Nation Chief Georjann Morriseau.
“This particular part of the Ontario region is fast becoming a focus for industry, for investors in regards to the resources in the north, in particular the Ring of Fire,” says Day, founder and CEO of Bimaadzwin Inc. “This VR technology allows prospects and potential employees to see what they could get into and to be able to see … what scope and depth they want to participate in with regards to any part of the natural resource development industry.”
Morriseau, director of Indigenous Affairs at Resolute Forest Products, says VR technology is “intriguing.”
“Right now, workforce development and workforce shortage is a key issue for everyone, especially in the natural resource sectors,” Morriseau says. “So having VR [and] being able to utilize that and leverage those kind of innovative tools that people like ORIGIN offer, that is a way to help recruit and retain, especially in Indigenous communities.”
The other four ORIGIN National Advisory Council members are: Dan Peters, Paul-Emile McNab, Xina Cowan and Stephen Lindley.