NETCO Launches State of the Art Virtual Reality Training in Ontario

LDS NETCO CNMIE 400

May 24, 2022

The National Electrical Trade Council (NETCO) is pleased to announce that they will be rolling out virtual reality (VR) based training for beginner electrical apprentices at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Training Centres in Ontario over the next few months.

The state of the art Virtual Electrical Training (VET) platform was developed by IVRY Technologies, a division of IDEAL Industries (Canada) Corp.  NETCO has secured the rights to offer this program via training centres in Ontario with the goal to offer it across Canada.

NETCO Executive Director Chris Swick, RSE, says the benefits of this type of training are immense and this is just the beginning. “VR training will assist electrical apprentices in getting proper training that was developed using Canadian standards, in a safe virtual environment. This type of training will eliminate any sort of risk for a new apprentice and will cut down material waste in training centres, and eventually more VR modules will be added to the curriculum” explained Swick.

“Another benefit of this type of training environment is that there is no requirement for large space and the training equipment is highly portable, so training can be done in virtually any setting. We plan to start shipping out the Oculus VR Headsets to our Ontario based IBEW training centres that are on board with this program over the next few weeks. This is a very exciting evolution in the training model in Canada and we are pleased to do this with one of our training partners, Ideal Industries (Canada) Corp.,” said Swick.

“IDEAL Industries is extremely proud to be rolling out our state-of-the-art VET (Virtual Electrical Training) platform to the Ontario market in partnership with NETCO.  Our IVRY Technologies team has worked diligently to produce a learning experience like no other, providing a unique and engaging learning platform for apprentices in a safe and effective manner” says Sean Bernard, National Sales Manager for IDEAL Industries (Canada) Corp.

Delegates to the Annual NETCO conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 27, 28, 2022 will benefit from an educational session ‘Intro to VR Training’ with Sam Jaros, Business Unit Team Lead of IVRY technologies and will be able to see the product firsthand in the NETCO booth at the trade show portion of the conference.

NETCO looks forward to announcing further initiatives in training over the next few months including new courses being added to the Online Apprentice Support Initiatives for Success (OASIS).

Go HERE for more information on NETCO

Related Articles


Changing Scene

  • Arlington Wins NECA 2024 ShowStopper Award for Outstanding Product

    Arlington Wins NECA 2024 ShowStopper Award for Outstanding Product

    A 2024 NECA ShowStopper Award was awarded to Arlington’s Furred Wall Box Kits at the 2024 NECA Show on September 29 in San Diego, CA. Arlington’s Furred Wall Box Kits make challenging outlet box installations easy. There’s no need to break out concrete block, install furring strips, or foam around the box. UL Listed, large… Read More…

  • Growing Demand for Resilient Grid Solutions Drives S&C’s Latest Expansion

    Growing Demand for Resilient Grid Solutions Drives S&C’s Latest Expansion

    S&C Electric Company officially opened its new 275,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Palatine, Illinois. S&C innovates and manufactures technology that advances a more intelligent, resilient, and reliable electrical grid. The Palatine expansion, announced in early 2023, created 200 production and engineering jobs and is approximately 25 miles from S&C’s 47-acre headquarters and manufacturing campus in Chicago’s Rogers Park… Read More…


Peers & Profiles