SSSC use gaming technology to simulate real-life care scenarios

The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and the University of West of Scotland (USW) have launched two new learning games at The European Conference on the Application of Enabling Technologies, held in Glasgow this week.

The games are designed to help social service workers and employers learn and develop vital skills using the same technology as they would use to play simulation games.  

Designed by experts in the social service sector both games are based on every day practice and allow workers and employers to work through different scenarios in a safe controlled environment.

The 3D virtual nursery gives early years workers the chance to practice and learn “on the job” in a virtual environment. The game uses real life scenarios, meaning the player is able to think through the skills they need in different situations and to see what happens as a result of the decisions they take.  

The leadership game for management development uses similar gaming techniques to support managers in social services to make decisions including prioritising workloads.

Professor Jim McGoldrick, Convener of the SSSC, said at the launch: “Giving people the chance to test out their decision-making skills in a safe way is one of the many benefits of games-based learning. The decisions that social service workers take every day can have a massive impact on the lives of the people they work with so the more ways we can find to develop those skills the better.

“With a workforce of around 189,000 many social service workers use technology in their own home, as we all do, but aren’t aware of what it can do for them in their working lives. I am delighted that we are working with UWS to develop ways of making learning more accessible, relevant and personalised for the workforce now and for the challenges ahead.”

The SSSC say the games will appear on their Workforce Solutions website soon: http://workforcesolutions.sssc.uk.com