AR EdTech for Hydrogen Skills
The £10m AR EdTech for Hydrogen Skills project by the Blair Project develops uSkill360, an immersive training platform using AR, VR, and AI. It upskills workers for the hydrogen industry, promoting accessibility, diversity, and global net-zero skills.
Project Overview
The AR EdTech for Hydrogen Skills project, led by a social enterprise called The Blair Project, aims to address the urgent need for skilled workers in the growing hydrogen industry. By leveraging augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and gamification, the project is creating an innovative EdTech platform called uSkill360. This platform will deliver immersive, hands-on training to upskill and reskill individuals in hydrogen-related fields, such as production, maintenance, and logistics.
The project which received £10m in funding through the Innovation Accelerator programme has been established to provide accessible and affordable training that can be delivered at scale, reducing the reliance on traditional classroom-based instruction. uSkill360 will offer online certification aligned with international standards, allowing learners to acquire industry-recognised skills without the need for extensive time away from their jobs.
The project also emphasises diversity and inclusion by making training accessible to people of all backgrounds. In addition to online learning, the project will offer onsite training at the Manchester Innovation Activities Hub, a new training centre focused on net zero skills.
The uSkill360 platform is expected to be fully functional by May 2025, offering a range of hydrogen-related modules. The long-term vision is for uSkill360 to become a leading global platform for net zero skills training, expanding its offerings to include other areas such as industrial digitalisation, renewable energies, and automotive electrification. Project partners include Fuzzy Logic Studio, the Hydrogen Skills Alliance, Carlton Power.