Tech4Good: Virtual Reality (VR) gives people a fresh start

Think fast. If I said, “virtual reality,” (VR) what would your first thought be? For many people, gaming comes to mind. But virtual reality has applications far beyond gaming. At Accenture, we’ve partnered with Goodwill Industries International to use VR as part of our mission to use Technology for Good (Tech4Good). And I am happy to say, we’re now using VR to solve a very pressing real-world problem — helping people with criminal backgrounds get a fresh start in the workforce.

Reversing the tide of reincarceration

The U.S. Department of Justice figures show 650,000 people being released from prisons in this country annually. Sadly approximately two-thirds of these people are rearrested within three years of their release.

Working with Goodwill, we began to imagine the good we could do by connecting people with criminal backgrounds with the tools and mentors they need to help them become sustainably employed. And of course, because we’re in the technology business, we began to envision how emerging technologies could be put to good use in this process.

Goodwill already provides holistic reintegration services. In 2019, they helped 82,000 people with criminal backgrounds achieve their education and employment goals. To help them increase scale and impact, Accenture partnered with them to create a VR training experience called Project Overcome.

A risk-free rehearsal for high-stress job interviews

Project Overcome users are immersed in a 3D virtual reality interview with an HR manager, as well as a coaching session with a career counselor. The mock interview is based on scenarios encountered by other people, so the questions asked are drawn from the real-world. The person being interviewed is provided a selection of possible answers, and their choices determine how they proceed through the experience. We’ve built in the capacity for millions of unique combinations for how the training can play out, depending on the user’s choices.

At the end of the VR interview, participants receive a performance summary with immediate feedback, which is known to improve learning and promote retention. They also have the option to hear from a few individuals who had criminal backgrounds and successfully found sustainable work through Goodwill’s program.

It’s not easy for many people to feel empowered to tell their own narrative, and to tell it in a way that resonates with employers. Using VR, we’re able to provide users with risk-free practice for high-stress job interviews — with the ability to refine their approach for better results.

Tech4Good brings change to those that need it most

Ten local Goodwill organizations are implementing Project Overcome, including Detroit, Michigan Columbus, Ohio; and Louisville, Kentucky.

This project with Goodwill is amazing and just one example of the good technology can do when applied to a host of real-world issues — from helping to bring joy to people in assisted living facilities to assisting people suffering from mental health issues like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Two years ago, Accenture presented a vision for using virtual reality (VR) in child welfare. That vision came to life as the Accenture Virtual Experiences Solution (AVEnueS) — a learning tool that the Accenture team imagined would be invaluable in helping prepare caseworkers for the field. Two years later, early adopters across the country have shown that AVEnueS is a tool for what we envisioned and much more. The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services and the Indiana Department of Child Services are among the collaborators.

At Accenture we say that at the heart of every great change is a great human. Growing up you hope you leave the world better then you found it. I am so excited to work at a place where we look to use technology to enable that better world, so that people can be the best version of themselves that they can be. I light up when I have the opportunity to converse with business, technology, nonprofit and government leaders who feel the same. When we finally get back to gathering in person, I’m looking forward to a tap on the shoulder from some of you who are reading this right now and starting a conversation about the possibilities inherent in using emerging technologies for good.

I’ll leave you with some thoughts from Tony Worlds, an Accenture consulting manager, who writes about what it was like to work on Project Overcome in his recent blog. I echo his sentiment about using technology and my own personal skillset for good. There’s no better feeling.

“Together, we can change the world,” is more than a hopeful saying. I see it every day in my job — it’s a reality when we collaborate with intention. And the results are changing lives. For more about the work Accenture is doing with VR, please visit www.accenture.com/xr