Career orientation is an integral part of young people’s development. Due to the large number of occupational fields, it is not easy to maintain an overview. It is also di!cult to gain insights into every profession and try them out in practice. Conventional methods of communicating information about professions are reaching young people less and less. It is, therefore, necessary to develop new approaches incorporating digitalization and modernizing career orientation.
This study examines what measures are required to support young people in their career guidance with the help of a virtual reality application. It also examines whether virtual reality can increase interest in the profession presented. The landscape gardener apprenticeship was selected as the use case for developing a virtual reality prototype. The development was based on a qualitative approach in which landscape gardening and virtual reality experts were interviewed. The data obtained was then combined with theoretical principles. The prototype was designed iteratively using design thinking methods.
Seven students tested the prototype in a pretest-posttest workshop at the Strassgang secondary school in Graz to validate the research question. A questionnaire was used to evaluate the perception and impact of the application. The results show that virtual reality offers an innovative method for presenting apprenticeships. Virtual reality technology can increase the attractiveness of professions, close knowledge gaps, and reduce bias. These approaches open new possibilities for future-oriented career guidance.
The Master’s thesis was supervised by Michael Kernbichler.
