THEFUTUREOFLEARNINGWITHTHEMETAVERSE

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION01

Metaverseattheserviceoftheemployeeexperience

02

TheMetaverse:Whatisit?02-

03

TheimpactoftheMetaverseonHR:Towardsanewvalue

03

propositionforemployeedevelopment

Thethreemainusecasesfor

metaverseapplicationintraining04

Operationaltraining04-

05

Technicaltraining

05

Softskillstraining

05

Openanewfieldofpossibilities:

thebenefitsofusingtheMetaverseintraining06

Towardsgreatercollaboration

06

Towardsgreaterefficiencyandproductivity

07

Towardsgreaterengagement

07

Towardsgreaterinnovation

07

ChallengesinusingtheMetaversefortraining:

ourrecommendationsfora“pragmaticandmindful”

applicationoftheMetaverse08

StartingwiththeWhy

08

Makemetaversetrainingmoreaccessible

09

Makemetaversetrainingmoreresponsible

09

Makemetaversetrainingmorehuman

09

LeveragetheMetaverseecosystem

09

INTRODUCTION

Againstabackdropoftransformationinourrelationshipwithwork,companiestodaymust

continuallyadapttogainormaintaintheir

competitiveedge.Majorchangesinrecentyears

haveputtheworkenvironmentatthecoreof

theEmployeeExperience,withthe“Futureof

Work”revolution:newflexibleworkinghours

(synchronousorasynchronous),flex-office,remoteworking,andmorerecentlythe4-dayweek.Thisisinadditiontothewarfortalentfacingtheentiremarket.Today,77%employersfinditdifficultto

recruittherightpeople1.However,thischallengetoattractalsoinvolvesanothermajorpillaroftheEmployeeExperience:The“FutureofLearning”.

ManyorganizationscontinuetoinnovatethroughtheMetaverseandImmersiveExperiencesand

thinkupnewusesforthem,astheirdevelopmentseemstohavenolimitsotherthanthosesetby

theboundariesofourownimagination.It’salsoimportanttonotethatthereturnofartificial

intelligencetotheforefrontofthetechnologicalscene,notablywiththeriseofGenerativeAI,

doesn’tmeantheendorreplacementofthe

Metaverse;instead,itcomplementsandbuildsonit.CuriosityabouttheMetaverseremainshigh,

asshownbyastudycarriedoutbyCapgemini

ResearchInstitute2.Indeed,9outof10consumerssaytheyarecuriousaboutthistechnology,and

61%believethatimmersiveexperiencescanhaveanimpactonthetrainingsector.Westillhave

sometimetogobeforetheMetaversereachesfullmaturity,butitopensawidefieldofpossibilities.

UnderstandingnewtechnologiesisdeeplyrootedinCapgemini’sDNA,anditwasduringdiscussionsbetweenCapgeminiexpertsthatthesubjectof

theMetaverseappliedtotrainingcameup.Rightfromthestart,wenoticedthatourteamshad

differingpointsofviewontheactualcontributionoftheMetaversetoemployeetraining.Thislineofquestioningledustodelvedeeperintotheissuebyconductingin-depthresearchandinterviews,

withaviewtodraftingthisPointofViewasafirstresponse.Awarmthankyoutothecontributorsandtheresearchteamforopeningandnourishingthediscussion.Wehopethereaderswilljoinourcommunityofdebaters.

1

2023GlobalTalentShortage

,ManPower,2023

2

/insights/research-library/immersive-experiences/

Thefutureoflearningwiththemetaverse01

METAVERSE

ATTHESERVICEOFTHE

EMPLOYEEEXPERIENCE

TheMetaverse:Whatisit?

ThefirstdefinitionofaMetaverseappearedatthedawnofthe90s,buttodaytherearemanymore.AccordingtothedefinitiongivenbytheFrench

MinistryofCulture,afterinterviewingmorethan80leadingfiguresinthefield:“TheMetaverse

isanonlineserviceprovidingaccesstoshared,

persistent,real-timesimulationsof3Dspaces,in

whichimmersiveexperiencescanbeshared.”3TheMetaversethusreferstoavirtualuniverseinwhichitispossibletowalkaroundintheformofadigitalavatarandmeetotheravatars,correspondingto

realpeople.Immersioncanbemoreorlesstotal,

dependingonwhetheraccessisviaavirtualreality

headset,mixedrealityglassesorheadset(

Apple

VisionPro

)oraPCormobileinterface4.Aconcert

organizedonFortnitehasverylittleincommon

witharecruitmentforumorganizedonSpace.io,

andyetbotharepartoftheMetaverse.Thereare

manyusecases,andifweweretomakeaninitial

categorizationfollowingourresearch,wewould

have:

1

FutureofCustomerandCitizenExperience:

AccessiblefromawiderangeofdevicesrangingfromwebbrowsertoVRorMRheadset,thisisthefutureoftheInternet.Moreimmersive,usersbenefitfromhumanizedinteractionswithpeople,

brands,organizations,products,places,orservices.Itbringsaseamlessexperienceforshopping,accesstopublicorprivateservices,entertainment,andsocialinteractions.

3

Inter-ministerialmissionreportonthedevelopmentoftheMetaverse(October2022)

4

https://www.managementdelaformation.fr/reperes/2022/06/14/formation-metavers-pour-contre/

02

Thefutureoflearningwiththemetaverse

2

FutureofEmployeeExperience:

Focusedoncollaborationandimprovingtheemployeeexperience,thisistheleastmaturedimensiontodate,butonethatwillbeaddressedinthispointofview.

3

FutureofIndustrialExperience:

ExtendingtheDigitalTwinconceptbybridgingphysical-digitalworlds,workersandengineerscancollaborate,design,simulate,train,controlandultimatelyoperatephysicalassetsfromvirtual

environments.

AsfarastheadoptionoftheMetaverseonthe

marketisconcerned,whileintheeyesofthepublicwecanobserveaformofdistancing,whetherin

termsofexposureorcommitmentonthepartofmajorgroups,thisdoesnotmeanthatitsendisnear.WecanrefertoGartner’stechnology

hypecurve5:inAugust2022,Gartneraddedthe

Metaversetothiscurveandconsidersthatthe

Metaverseproductivityplateau(“whenmainstreamadoptionstartstotakeoff”)willbereachedin10

years’time.

TheimpactoftheMetaverseonHR:Towardsanewvaluepropositionforemployeedevelopment

CEOofCapgeminiGroup,AimanEzzat,recently

sharedanarticleonthepoweroftheMetaversetocreateimmersiveexperiencesthatwilltransformthewaywework,collaborate,andinnovate.6

ThereareagrowingnumberofexampleswheretheMetaverseisbeingusedinHumanResourcestoenhancetheEmployeeExperience.Imagine

avirtualworldwhereyoucanaccessasafe

containingallyouradministrativedata,access

an“HROffice”whereyoucanaskyourquestions

eithertoanartificialintelligencemechanismforthesimplestquestions,ormakeanappointmentwith

amemberofHRdirectly,orundertaketrainingandmonitoryourcareer(throughtheintegrationofHRtools).TheMetaversethusrepresentstheevolvedformoftoday’sHRERPs7.

ThistechnologybringsvaluetoHRinthreeways:

Recruitmentandinduction,training,andcareer

management.ThepredominantHRusecaseto

dateconcernstherecruitmentandonboarding

phase.Oneexampleistherecruitmentevent

launchedbyCapgeminiInventinOctober2022

called“TheMETaverseTalentExperience”.The

eventwelcomed118participantsfrom15differentcountriesandreceivedanoverallsatisfactionratingof4.4pointsoutof5.Theimmersiveexperience

broughtanewapproachtotherecruitment

process,attractingcandidatescuriousaboutthe

experience.Theinnovative,interactive,andplayfulnatureoftheeventwonoverthetalent.What’s

more,organizingthisinternationaleventenabledustodevelopamuchcloserrelationshipthana

simplevideoconference,throughimmersion,while

reducingcostsascomparedtoaface-to-face

event.Inthisway,democratizingtheMetaverserecruitmentprocesswouldmakeuseofthe

Metaverseaccessibletoawideraudience.

By2027,60%employeeswillrequireaccessto

trainingtoadapttonewprofessions/technologies/uses.Investinginemployeeskillsthrough

training(upskilling/reskilling)isoneofthemajor

transformationleversforanorganization.Betweenthedisappearanceandarrivalofnewprofessions

thatwillrequireadaptingtonewtechnologies(e.g.,GenerativeAI,Metaverse,quantumcomputing,

etc.)withreskilling,i.e.,skillsreconversion,orthe

continuousimprovementofexistingprocessesviaupskilling,i.e.,skilldevelopment,trainingmustbeplacedattheheartoftheEmployeeExperience.

Thiscanbeachieved,forexample,byrenewing

thecareerpathandintroducingnewobjectives

linkedtothemasteryofthesetechnologies.

Orbyinnovatingourcurrenttrainingcourses,

offeringnewcertificationsandtrainingpaths

throughdedicatedacademies.Beyondbeinga

necessityfortheorganization,trainingisavector

ofengagement,attractiveness,andproductivityforthecompany’splayers.

So,inthisarticle,wewillconsidertheimpactoftheMetaverseonemployeetraining.ForwhattypesofusecasesandskillscanuseoftheMetaversemakeamajorcontributionto(re)inventingthelearningexperience,forbothtrainersandlearners?What

areitskeybenefitsandchallenges?Andfinally,whatarethekeysuccessfactorsforapplyingtheMetaverseintrainingfororganizations?

5

https://www.gartner.fr/fr/methodologies/hype-cycle

6

/posts/aiman-ezzat_the-metaverse-opportunities-for-business-activity-7047194005171798017-7JOe?utm_

source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

7

/fr/resources/articles/definition-enterprise-resource-planning/

03

Thefutureoflearningwiththemetaverse

THETHREEMAINUSECASES

FORMETAVERSEAPPLICATION

INTRAINING

Beforegoingintodetailaboutthebenefits/challengesthattheMetaversecanbringtoprofessional

training,it’simportanttodistinguishbetweenusecases.Basedonourresearch,wehavecategorizedthreemaintypesoftraining:operationaltraining(focusedonprocesses),technicaltraining(focusedontools)andsoftskillstraining.It’simportanttonote,however,thatgiventhepotentialoftheMetaverse,newusecasesarelikelytoemergeasadvancesaremadeinthefield.

Operationaltraining(processes)

Thefirstconcernsoperationalor‘process’training.Asimplifiedexamplewouldbelearninghowto

manageacompany’ssupplychain.Thelearner

couldthentaketestsinaMetaverse,indirect

contactwiththechannelinquestion,which

wouldbetransposedintoavirtualuniverse.This

practicealreadyexistsandisknownas‘IndustrialMetaverse’anditsunderlyingconceptof“DigitalTwin”.AccordingtoastudyreportonMetaverse

applicationsintheindustry,aDigitalTwinis

definedas:Avirtualrepresentationofreal-worldphysicalobjects,processes,orsystemsandtheir

interconnections8.Let’stakeamoreconcrete

examplefromachemistrylaboratory.Throughthe

creationofthisDigitalTwin,itwouldbepossibleto

learnon3levels:

?TakeasimpletourthroughthisDigitalTwin

todiscoverthelaboratory,getusedtothe

differentmaterials,machines,etc.

?Learnsafetyprocedures,informationon

thevariousequipmenttobeusedandthe

protocolstobefollowed.

?Learnbydirectexperimentation,withzerorisksincetheenvironmentisvirtual.

8

Onthepathtotheindustrialmetaverse,Capgemini

Thefutureoflearningwiththemetaverse04

AstheMetaverseaimstoconnectpeople,itwouldalsobepossibletohavearepresentationofthe

variousinteractionsbetweenpeople,particularly

intheeventofanemergency(fire,chemicalleak,

etc.).Inthehealthcarefield,wecanimaginean

operatingtheatertransposedintotheMetaverse,whereanentiremedicalteamwouldtraintogetheronanoperationwithoutendangeringthelifeofahumanbeing.Inthisway,theuseoftheMetaversetotrainonoperationalprocessesandactionsoffersawiderangeofpossibilities.Themainadvantage

comesfromthesedigitaltwins,buttheydohavethedisadvantageofcostingalotofmoneyto

reproducerealityasaccuratelyaspossible.

Usingtheexampleofanoperatingtheatreasaguidetodifferentiation:operationaltraining

(processtraining)wouldinvolvemasteringthe

variousstagesofanoperation,forexample,

whiletechnicaltrainingwouldbebasedontools

(lasers,endoscopes,etc.).Inthisway,asurgeon

couldtrainmanyinternsatonce,usingimages,

diagrams,videos,anddigitallyreproducedtoolstodemonstratetheentireoperatingprocess.Internscansimultaneouslyreproducewhatisshown

tothem,withoutanyriskofdamage9.Another

exampleinvolvesSNCFRéseaux,whichrolledoutatrainingtoolcalled“L’Immersivestudio”in2018.Thishasenabledthemtotraintheirstaffinvarioussafetymeasuresthroughsimulationsthatreflectdifferentlearningenvironments,withoutthe

learnershavingtotraveleachtimeorbeingputatrisk.10

Technicaltraining(tools)

Oursecondusecaseconcernstechnicaltraining.

Thisisprobablythemostcommonandexpected

casefortheuseofimmersivetechnologiessuch

asvirtual,augmented,ormixedreality.Itisalso

verysimilartooperationaltraining.Onceagain,themainadvantageistoprovidezeroriskandsecurity,favoringa"Test&Learn"approach.Likeourfirst

usecase,digitaltwinscanalsobeusefulwhenweneedtoreproduceindustrialtoolsorinstrumentsinaMetaverse.Theseusecasesrepresenthighaddedvalueinheavyindustry(energy,arms,aerospace,

etc.).TheMetaversewouldaccompanythetrainingofengineersandtechniciansoncutting-edgetoolsandmaterials,encouragingexperimentationandfailure,unlikewhatrealityoffers.

Allthisisdrivenbythenotionof"Learningby

Doing",whichisreinforcedintheMetaverse

throughimmersiveandvirtualreality.Totaketheexampleofmedicine,somemarketplayershave

specializedinthedigitalreproductionofmedical

tools,enablingteamstopracticevirtuallybefore

actualuse.Thisapproachallowstheteamto

interactwithtoolswhenevertheywant,developingthetechnicalskillsneededforproperusewhile

savinglogisticalcostsandtime.11

TheMetaversethusoffersnewpointsofviewonthetechnicalnatureofaproduct.Withasimplemovementofthehand,itwouldbepossibleto

breakdowntheaircrafttofocusonatinypart,

studytheinsideofanengine...Andthankstothepossibilityofconnectingpeople,thiswouldbringanewwayofapproachingaproductanditeratingonitspotentialenhancements.Virtualreality

specialistSkyReal,forexample,hasdeveloped

severalimmersivetrainingcoursesfortheSafranGroup.Thiscouldinvolvetrainingoperatorsin

theinstallationorrepairofcomplexindustrialequipment.12

Softskillstraining

Lessmaturethantheothertwo,asurgeofinterestisbeginningtoemergeinimmersivesoftskills

training.Indeed,thelatterareincreasinglyin

demandonthejobmarket,especiallyamongyounggraduates.TheMetaverseenablesustodevelop

behaviorsthatwecanthenputintopracticeinthereal,physicalworld(e.g.,meetingpeople,ability

tocommunicate,developingself-confidence,etc.).Whiletoday'ssoft-skillstrainingprogramswork

verywellinface-to-facesessions,theMetaverse

allowsforgreaterpersonalfreedom(aswearelesssubjecttothegazeofothers)andconnectivity,

developingthetraining'sinternationalpotential.AfewexamplesofthisusecasewouldbethecreationofaMetaverseadaptedfortrainingaround"How

tomanageaninternationalteam",improvingpublicspeakingwiththesimulationofalargestagefilledwith"fake"people,orcustomerservicetraining

formajorretailers.Thepossibilitiesarenumerous,andremainunder-utilized,especiallyinprofessionswherethesesoftskillsareincreasinglyindemand,eventhoughtheyarenotpartoftheinitialtraining(engineers,industrialprojectmanagers,etc.).

9

/platform/collaborationvr/

10

https://www.valtus.fr/2022/03/23/le-metaverse-au-service-de-la-formation-deja-une-realite/

11

/platform/collaborationvr/

12

/fr/news/la-solution-skyreal-accompagne-le-developpement-des-modules-de-formations-immersives-de-safran-engineering-services/

Thefutureoflearningwiththemetaverse05

OPENANEWFIELDOF

POSSIBILITIES:THEBENEFITS

OFUSINGTHEMETAVERSE

INTRAINING

TheideaofprovidingtrainingintheMetaversedatestotheearly2000s.Inthefieldofhighereducation,OlivierLamirault,DirectorofInnovationandTechnologyatEMNormandie,wasalreadyorganizingEnglishcoursesinSecondLifein200713.Accordingtoourresearchandinterviews14,theMetaverseappliedto

traininghas4majorbenefits:itenablesorganizationstooffertheirteamsmorecollaborative,effective,engaging,andinnovativetraining.

Towardsgreatercollaboration

Byrecreatingaworkenvironmentthatresemblestherealthingandbringspeopletogether,the

Metaverseis,inessence,collaborative.Itcanbringtogetheremployeesworkingremotely,creatinga

strongsenseofproximityinhighlytechnological

environments.AnneFenninger,headoftheData

andSoftwareAcademyatStellantis,believesthat

theMetaversehasmadeamajorcontribution

13

/fr/article/metavers-dans-l-enseignement-superieur-il-y-a-une-vraie-volonte-de-creer-une-experience-collaborative

14Source:CapgeminiinterviewswithinternalandexternalMetaverseexperts

Thefutureoflearningwiththemetaverse06

tointernationalcollaborationbetweenteams

scatteredbetweenFrance,BrazilandtheUSA

followingthemergeroftheFCAandPSAgroups,byofferingemployeestrainingexperiencesintheMetaverse.

Thesetrainingcourses,providedbytechspecialists,ensuredthattheteamswereabletolearnwhat

isknownas"ATAWADAC15",meaninganydigital

contentthatcanbeaccessedfromanywhere,atanytimeandonanytypeofdevice.Inadditiontothe

possibilityofferedbytheMetaverseofbeingevenmoreconnected,theMetaverseisalsoameansofreinforcingtheeffectivenessoftrainingonteamperformance.

Towardsgreaterefficiencyandproductivity

Whenusedintraining,theMetaversehelpsto

capturetheattentionof"trainees"andtransmit

informationmoreeffectively.Employeestrained

intheMetaverseareinfactfourtimesmore

focusedthantheirpeersdoingonlinetraining,andemployeestakingpartinMetaversecoursescanbetraineduptofourtimesfasterthanthosetaking

partinclassroomtraining16.

Ontheotherhand,sinceitenablespracticeinanimmersive,low-stressenvironment,trainingintheMetaversetranslatesintohigherlevelsof

confidenceandagreaterabilitytoapplylearningintheworkenvironment.Learnerstrainedin

theMetaverseareupto275%moreconfident

inapplyingwhatthey'velearnedaftertraining,

a40%improvementoverclassroomtraininganda35%improvementoveronlinetraining17.In

additiontoitseffectivenessintermsoflearningandproductivity,theMetaverseisalsoavector

forincreasedemployeeengagement,thankstoitsplayfulandexperimentalnature.

Towardsgreaterengagement

AccordingtoAlbertEinstein,"playisthehighest

formofresearch".Indeed,gamesappliedto

trainingareauniversalvectorofmotivationand

engagement,sincetheyenableustosharefeelingsandemotionscollectively,andtolearnwhilehavingfun.Employeesalreadyexpecttheirorganizationtoofferthemmoreactiveandfundigitaltrainingcourses,whichtendtowardsaMetaverseformat.72%employeeswanttogamifytheirtrainingwithdigitalgames18.

ThecombinationoftheMetaverseandtheSeriousGamerepresentsavastfieldofopportunityfor

organizationswishingtooffertheiremployeesgamifiedvirtualexperiences.Thiswinning

combinationisparticularlyeffectivefordevelopingemployeeskillsorraisingawarenessofaparticularissueinanengagingandinnovativeway.

Towardsgreaterinnovation

TheMetaverse,pluralbynature,offersinfinite

creativepossibilitieswhich,whenappliedto

training,revolutionizeitssubstanceandformat.

Byredefiningtheboundariesofreality,the

Metaversechangesthewayweareaslearners,

throughthepersonalizedavatarwebecomeinthisvirtualuniverse.Butitalsochangesthewaywe

learn,bygivinganactiveexperientialdimensiontoourrelationshipwithtrainingandenablingusto

experienceunprecedentedmoments19.

TheMetaversethusenablesustoinnovatebothindividuallyandcollectively,aspartofa"Test&

Learn"or"LearningbyDoing"approachinvolving

bothlearnersandtrainers,whomustalso

familiarizethemselveswiththisnewworld.The

Metaversecanthushelpcompaniestoimagineanddesignotherpossiblewaysofacculturatingtheir

employeestoagiventhemeordevelopingtheminaparticularskill,asillustratedbythethreeusecasesofourarticle.Inadditiontonewlearning

topicsandformats,innovationintrainingthroughtheMetaversecouldalsomeaninnovationin

certificationsandrewardsforlearners(e.g.,NFTcertificates).

15

https://gymnasedumanagement.fr/la-formation-accessible-partout-et-tout-le-temps-pour-optimiser-votre-temps/#:~:text=ATAWADAC%20%3A%20

d%C3%A9finition%20et%20exemple,son%20ordinateur%20ou%20son%20mobile%E2%80%A6

16

/us/en/tech-effect/emerging-tech/virtual-reality-study.html?_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8qjIaovwH6DXi2JNjHpm5WYZ-KrVBPYitwM1TfoSi-

bc2LPlN7hrCBCAMHtUKp00icF8pr

17

/us/en/tech-effect/emerging-tech/virtual-reality-study.html?_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8qjIaovwH6DXi2JNjHpm5WYZKrVBPYitwM1TfoSi-

bc2LPlN7hrCBCAMHtUKp00icF8pr

18

/serious-game-dans-le-metaverse/

19FNEGEroundtable:HopesandrisksoftheMetaverse

Thefutureoflearningwiththemetaverse07

CHALLENGESINUSINGTHE

METAVERSEFORTRAINING:

OURRECOMMENDATIONSFOR

A“PRAGMATICANDMINDFUL”

APPLICATIONOFTHEMETAVERSE

StartingwiththeWhy

Despitealltheadvantagesofferedbythe

Metaverse,italsopresentsafewchallenges.

ForNathalieBadreau,DirectoroftheInfluenceandReputationDepartmentatISCOM(a

communicationsandadvertisingschoolwith

10campusesinFrance)andco-founderofthe

MetaverseLab:"It'simportanttounderstand

thattheMetaverseanditsvirtualworldsarenotintendedtoreplacetraditionalteaching,butto

complementit,modernizeitandimproveit.”Infact,theMetaverseisnotintendedtoreplace"classic"

pedagogy,butrathertosupportandenhanceit20.

Forcompanies,it'snotenoughtosimplycreateavirtualroomwithchairsandinviteavatarsto

sitdown,buttoreallythinkaboutthebenefits

oftrainingintheMetaverseratherthaninthe

traditionalsetting,bydefiningastrategyfocused

onthevalueoftraining.Inotherwords,weneed

tostudytherelevantuseoftheMetaverse,soas

nottofallintothe"gadgeteffect"ifthereisno

concreteuseforitsapplication.

Toenabletrainersandemployeestounderstand

thebenefitsoftheMetaverse,itistherefore

essentialfororganizationstocommunicate

clearlyandtransparentlyaboutit,bydevising

anacculturationpathtoaccompanythechange

introducedbytheMetaverseintothelearning

curriculum.

20

https://communotic.normandie.fr/formation-multimodale-de-quoi-parle-t-on/articles-de-fonds/metavers-en-formation-une-nouvelle-etape

Thefutureoflearningwiththemetaverse08

Makemetaversetrainingmoreaccessible

ImplementingtheMetaverseintrainingrequiresamaterialcost(astheeconomiesofscaleinherentintheMetaversewillnotberealizedforseveralyears),butalsoanintangiblecost(linked,forexample,totheacculturationoftrainersandlearnerstothe

technology)thatisnotnegligibleforcompanies.

Thequestionofaccessibilitytotraininginthe

Metaverseposestimeconstraints(e.g.,ittakes

around6monthstoprepareatrainingcoursein

theCarrefourmeta-campus)andmajorchallengesfororgan