Better Than Reality @ Future of Mining 2025

The program was way better than I expected — it felt natural, hands-on, and way more engaging than pen and paper. VR helped me retain safety processes by experiencing them first-hand. Even though I knew the hazard was coming, my brain still flinched. You actually feel the danger. It hits differently when you see something about to fall on you. This is the future of training — it's how hands-on people like us actually learn.

I normally teach in a classroom using manuals, but this VR experience was far more effective than I expected. The information actually stuck with me — I was doing the task, not just reading about it. Compared to traditional training, it was engaging, immersive, and felt incredibly real. If this is how we’re training operators in the future, I can see retention and confidence improving massively.

Complex topics became simple. That’s the beauty of this VR technology. It bridges the gap between theory and practice. You actually feel like you’ve been inside the machine. Even without a mining background, I was able to retain tasks, safety steps, and remember how components worked.

It didn’t just teach me something — it showed me how each machine is unique and how you need to approach them differently. I’d absolutely recommend it for other apprentices. It makes you excited to learn because it’s so visual and hands-on. This kind of training should be portable — not a replacement for everything, but a powerful add-on.