While finding the right employee hires is a key concern for any business, less attention has been paid, until recently, to streamlined training and workforce development initiatives. Yet, with the growing sophistication and proliferation of online training services and mobile apps that can assist with employee development, it's no surprise one company has found a way to help the construction industry with their onboarding processes.

The Pittsburgh-based educational app developer, Simcoach, has created an app that helps potential construction hires with basic safety and equipment usage. Zachary Phillips of ConstructionDive reports, "Mobile games encourage continued usage by promising prizes, levels, and rewards for advancing through challenges. Construction managers are capitalizing on younger generations' interest in these types of games, especially on mobile platforms, to recruit and promote safety through educational construction apps." 

Games such as Harness Hero represent examples of Simcoach's approach to aiding in the training and recruitment processing through gameplay. Phillips explains, "Simcoach's games teach potential recruits about working on a construction site, such as operating heavy machinery. If players do well, they earn badges, which can lead to a certification that helps them find an apprenticeship." 

"Some of its games are accredited in conjunction with the Builders Guild of Western Pennsylvania's Introduction to the Construction Trades, a registered pre-apprentice program," Phillips adds.

These services offer one my many alternative methods for training that have proliferated within many fields in recent years, a phenomenon that beggs the question: Are we entering an era where job training is fun?