Curated News
By: NewsRamp Editorial Staff
October 17, 2025
Florida Apprenticeship Giant ABC Institute Launches VR Training with Uplift
TLDR
- ABC Institute gains a competitive edge by partnering with Uplift Training to deploy VR training, enhancing apprentice skill acquisition and program scalability across Florida.
- ABC Labs uses gamified VR technology to extend training beyond physical equipment limits, allowing repeated practice in electrical and other trades through immersive simulations.
- This VR training platform makes apprenticeship education more accessible and engaging, preparing a skilled workforce for future construction needs and strengthening communities.
- Apprentices can now learn electrical work through cutting-edge virtual reality games, transforming traditional trade education into an immersive, interactive experience.
Impact - Why it Matters
This partnership addresses critical workforce development challenges by making trade education more accessible and engaging through virtual reality technology. As skilled trades face significant labor shortages and an aging workforce, innovative training methods like ABC Labs can attract younger generations to these essential careers. The VR platform overcomes physical infrastructure limitations that often restrict hands-on learning opportunities, ensuring more apprentices receive quality training regardless of equipment availability. This advancement could help close the skilled labor gap, strengthen local economies, and provide more people with pathways to stable, well-paying careers in construction and trades—sectors crucial for infrastructure development and maintenance across communities.
Summary
The ABC Institute, Florida's largest apprenticeship provider with over 50 years of experience, has forged a groundbreaking partnership with Uplift Training, an AI-first immersive learning company, to develop ABC Labs—a revolutionary virtual reality training platform that will transform how apprentices learn critical trade skills. This collaboration represents a significant advancement in vocational education, blending ABC Institute's extensive apprenticeship heritage with Uplift Training's cutting-edge VR technology to create immersive, gamified learning experiences that will be deployed across all 13 Florida campuses.
The ABC Labs platform will initially focus on electrical training before expanding to cover all seven trades offered by ABC Institute, including HVAC, plumbing, pipe fitting, line erector, roofing, and fire sprinkler systems. The technology addresses a critical challenge in trade education by allowing instructors to extend training beyond physical equipment limitations—for example, enabling 20 students to practice on virtual electrical panels when only six physical units are available. This innovative approach not only makes learning more accessible but also creates engaging, interactive experiences that are expected to resonate strongly with younger generations and attract new talent to the trades.
According to Sonny Maken, Chief Operating Officer of ABC Institute, this partnership "allows us to reimagine how apprenticeship training is delivered" by ensuring every apprentice has equal learning opportunities regardless of lab space or equipment constraints. For Uplift Training, represented by CEO Josh Hanes, the collaboration demonstrates their commitment to scaling workforce development through AI-driven, immersive technology that helps build "a stronger, more resilient workforce for the future." The platform is positioned to become a valuable resource not only for ABC Institute students but potentially for other apprenticeship programs seeking to expand capacity without major infrastructure investments.
Source Statement
This curated news summary relied on content disributed by citybiz. Read the original source here, Florida Apprenticeship Giant ABC Institute Launches VR Training with Uplift
