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The technological shift during the COVID-19 pandemic has left an ongoing impact on learning and in the workplace. It is necessary to look into technological innovation in how skills are taught in order to prepare the post-pandemic labour force as the demographic shift spreads the use of technology and alters behaviour. Immersive technology, sometimes referred to as extended reality technology, stands out among existing technologies. Extended reality incorporates immersive technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality. Immersive technology predominantly refers to virtual reality and augmented reality, where virtual reality fully immerses users in a digital environment and augmented reality superimposes digital content on the real world. Extended reality is a more inclusive term that encompasses a variety of immersive experiences. In the workplace, there is a growing skill gap. Technology is creating more new jobs, and businesses are having trouble finding candidates with the proper skills to fill them (Van Roy et al., 2018). Businesses urgently need to drive corporate learning and enable employees to acquire necessary abilities quickly. Businesses are considering using remote training methods as remote and hybrid working trends increase (Donnelly & Johns, 2021; Hunter, 2019; Wang et al., 2021). However, most remote training can be expensive because it requires specialised software and content that has been carefully curated by experts.
Students who learn remotely may encounter a variety of issues. The early discomfort may have an effect on their attitude toward learning (Almarzooq et al., 2020). Students who learn remotely often do not receive prompt responses to their questions. This can harm the learning process when students are unable to establish relationships with their instructors and fellow course mates (Almarzooq et al., 2020; Mukhtar et al., 2020). Without prompt clarity, dropout rates could increase. In long-term courses, students might struggle to keep themselves motivated. Some courses have intricate designs and necessitate reading or research, so students must be more motivated to pay attention to the material (Jitpaisarnwattana et al., 2022). For the course to be completed, sustained engagement would be essential.
Immersive technology is being used more frequently by many industries, but the education sector is still not using it to its full potential. According to a poll by cloud AR/VR solution supplier Grid Raster, 91% of enterprises either now use or want to employ immersive technology (Vigliarolo, 2020). However, only 26% use it for employee training (Vigliarolo, 2020). This study aims to ascertain whether extended realities can raise student engagement.
The technology acceptance model (TAM) by Davis (1986) and second-generation activity theory are used in this study to determine the elements that affect the adoption of extended reality as a learning tool in the corporate setting. The study's goals are to determine whether learners view extended reality technologies as tools that can help with learning, to identify the crucial factors influencing the adoption of extended technology in corporate training, and to examine the advantages and difficulties of implementing extended reality tools at work.
The purposes of the study are to better understand how learners perceive extended reality technology (i.e., AR/VR) for learning in order to address interest in employing it in adult learning in the financial services sector, recognize the adoption-influencing factors and the difficulties in achieving a successful rollout, and address interest in employing extended reality technology (i.e., AR/VR) in adult learning in the financial services sector. It is important to understand how learners perceive this technology for learning and recognize the adoption-influencing factors and difficulties in achieving a successful rollout.