Interplay Learning, the leading provider of immersive training for the skilled trades, today announced the launch of its new In-the-Field Guides. These mobile-optimized, interactive resources are part of a comprehensive, structured development program that extends learning to maintenance technicians at the exact moment they need it most: in the field. Purpose-built for real-world troubleshooting, these Read more
Interplay Learning
Interplay Learning, the leading provider of immersive training for the skilled trades, today announced the launch of its new In-the-Field Guides. These mobile-optimized, interactive resources are part of a comprehensive, structured development program that extends learning to maintenance technicians at the exact moment they need it most: in the field.
Purpose-built for real-world troubleshooting, these step-by-step digital guides complement structured learning with just-in-time instruction and help reinforce key repair and diagnostic tasks. With an intuitive, mobile-first design, technicians can easily access the guidance they need while on the job, without halting their workflow or waiting for support from a supervisor.
The initial launch focuses on high-demand repair scenarios in the multi-family industry, with training on critical equipment such as electric and gas water heaters, electric ranges, dishwashers, refrigerators, washers and dryers, and heat pump systems. These are among the most common systems technicians encounter in the field and are often associated with service calls that demand quick, confident action. Additional scenarios, including mini split systems, will be added soon to expand support even further.
Each In-the-Field Guide offers a structured, yet interactive experience that walks technicians through identifying system components, locating parts, and taking accurate measurements. At each stage, short knowledge checks are integrated to keep technicians engaged and to reinforce proper decision-making. Most importantly, the guides are fully optimized for mobile devices, making them easy to reference during live troubleshooting without returning to the shop or a training room.
These new guides act as a powerful extension of Interplay’s comprehensive learning program, helping bridge the gap between training and real-world application. By pairing the guides with hands-on instruction, foundational coursework and assessments, organizations create the cohesive learning experience that’s necessary to build true competence and confidence on the job. Together, these tools ensure technicians are not only prepared for the moment but are continuously developing the skills they need to grow and succeed over time.
A well-rounded training program helps companies achieve meaningful improvements in performance and consistency. Teams are better equipped to improve first-time fix rates and reduce downtime. With In-the-Field Guides, they can also reinforce standardized troubleshooting processes on the job while boosting technician confidence and reducing the need for callbacks or outsourcing.
“When something breaks, techs don’t need to pause and search for answers. They need guidance in the moment,” said Doug Donovan, CEO and founder of Interplay Learning. “In-the-Field Guides are designed to extend structured learning into the flow of work, giving technicians real-time, situational support. When paired with foundational training, they help build a more confident, capable workforce that’s ready for whatever the day brings.”
The launch of In-the-Field Guides is a major step in Interplay’s commitment to delivering modern, performance-driven training solutions. More mobile-first tools are already in development and will be released later this year, continuing the company’s mission to meet learners where they are and provide the real-world support today’s technicians need. To learn more, visit www.interplaylearning.com.
New executive brings significant software industry experience, proven financial leadership to immersive education company Interplay Learning, the leader in immersive education for the skilled trades, announces John Pumpelly as their new chief financial officer, adding decades of technology and software industry expertise and proven financial leadership to an already-strong C-suite. Pumpelly boasts significant experience in Read more
New executive brings significant software industry experience, proven financial leadership to immersive education company
Interplay Learning, the leader in immersive education for the skilled trades, announces John Pumpelly as their new chief financial officer, adding decades of technology and software industry expertise and proven financial leadership to an already-strong C-suite.
John Pumpelly has been named as the new CFO for Interplay Learning, the leader in immersive training for the skilled trades.
Pumpelly boasts significant experience in executive-level positions at both publicly traded and private equity-held companies within the tech space—including Command Alkon, Updater, Stratix, Cbeyond and others. His financial leadership positions have spanned companies with $50 to $500 million in revenues.
“John has demonstrated himself to be resourceful and results-driven, and he brings the operational skill, financial acumen and software industry experience we prize within our leadership team,” said Doug Donovan, CEO of Interplay Learning. “He is also someone who understands how to cast a vision organization-wide—a must for our rapidly-growing company.”
Interplay Learning is an innovator within the immersive learning space, providing workforce development and professional certification opportunities for the skilled trades—leveraging such technologies as AI and VR simulations to provide comprehensive education with built-in flexibility and boundless customization.
“There is a growing need for training within the trades, and Interplay Learning meets that need with robust, results-oriented solutions,” said Pumpelly. “Interplay is on the cutting edge, and it’s exciting to develop and implement strategies to help them maintain their market growth and fulfill their mission of building better careers and better lives.”
For more information about Interplay Learning, visit www.interplaylearning.com.
Jim Clor, a veteran edtech leader, joins the innovative skilled trades training provider as the company continues to expand learning opportunities for K-12 Education, Higher Ed and Workforce Development organizations. Interplay Learning, the leading provider of immersive skilled trades training, has named Edtech sales executive Jim Clor, Vice President of Education and Workforce Development. In Read more
Jim Clor, a veteran edtech leader, joins the innovative skilled trades training provider as the company continues to expand learning opportunities for K-12 Education, Higher Ed and Workforce Development organizations.
Interplay Learning, the leading provider of immersive skilled trades training, has named Edtech sales executive Jim Clor, Vice President of Education and Workforce Development.
In his new role, Jim spearheads Interplay Learning’s sales and strategic efforts for the company’s education and workforce development business. His industry expertise and vision will be key to Interplay Learning’s efforts to support more scalable, engaging skilled trades training in school districts, colleges, technical schools, and workforce programs. Using immersive technology solutions such as 3D simulations, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence, Interplay can deliver hands-on trades training and credentials even when traditional resources may not be available.
“Jim brings an extensive background leading edtech sales orgs and partnering with schools to launch innovative solutions,” said Doug Donovan, CEO and founder of Interplay Learning. “Education is evolving rapidly. We’ll be relying on his expertise and leadership as Interplay continues to grow, with the goal of supporting innovation and scale for our academic and workforce development partners.”
Jim has over two decades of experience in strategic edtech sales, marketing, and executive management for some of the industry’s most respected companies. During his career, he has served in senior positions at both large and startup organizations, leading multiple companies from concept to acquisition.
“Supporting innovation in education through technology has been a central part of my career path. I’m excited to join a fast growth company that is reimagining skilled trades instruction in a way that better serves today’s learners and educators,” Clor said. “Interplay Learning has a proven commitment to partnering with schools and workforce organizations to ensure students graduate with job-ready skills in high demand and often overlooked trades occupations.”
To learn more about Interplay Learning’s ongoing commitment to innovation and the transformation of skilled trades education, visit Interplay Learning.
Empowering Organizations to Simplify, Scale and Succeed, Interplay Enterprise, an all-in-one career development platform, marks the next chapter in immersive training and talent development Interplay Learning, the leading provider of immersive skilled trades training, announced today the launch of Interplay Enterprise. Shaped by customer insights, this immersive career development platform introduces exciting new features designed Read more
Empowering Organizations to Simplify, Scale and Succeed, Interplay Enterprise, an all-in-one career development platform, marks the next chapter in immersive training and talent development
Interplay Learning, the leading provider of immersive skilled trades training, announced today the launch of Interplay Enterprise. Shaped by customer insights, this immersive career development platform introduces exciting new features designed to help enterprises elevate the skills of their entire workforce, streamline operations, and improve retention.
Interplay Enterprise simplifies career development by providing an all-in-one platform for company-wide learning. It includes nearly 500 hours of on-demand skilled trades courses, industry certification prep courses, learning paths, and 3D/VR simulations crafted by industry experts. A new content manager tool makes it easy for trainers and administrators to include additional courses about topics like leadership, management, compliance, ethics, and more by uploading SCORM-compliant course packages, videos, and documents. They can also use the content manager to build content, quizzes, and custom learning paths tailored to the diverse training needs of their workforce, while also managing and tracking in-person classroom training–all in one place.
Comprehensive management tools give enterprises the ability to scale and facilitate training across multiple locations and job roles. Administrators can streamline onboarding and user management with 60+ pre-built HR systems integrations and automated assignments for courses, paths, and due dates. Interplay also provides a suite of measurement, reporting, and AI-based recommendation tools, including skills assessments and insights dashboards. These empower leaders to add value with actionable insights to optimize training performance and help learners build the safety and accuracy skills they need to get to the next level.
“The latest evolution of our industry-leading solution allows organizations to simplify career development, scale their training, and succeed in building a strong, skilled workforce,” said Doug Donovan, CEO and founder of Interplay Learning. “With Interplay Enterprise, companies can provide safe, effective online training for all employees in one centralized learning space. They are not only able to apply Interplay’s proven trades training content, but they can also manage, track, upload, and create their own training — all within our career development platform. Our Enterprise customers can also count on our partnership through every step of their employees’ journey within our platform.”
“Interplay’s all-in-one platform allows us to track progress, identify areas for improvement, and provide scaffolded support to meet techs where they are to help them succeed,” said Andrew Hasty, director of learning and development, Peterman Brothers Heating, Cooling & Plumbing. “We’re strategically aligning Interplay’s platform to our paths of progression and career development initiatives. Our goal is to identify learning gaps and provide targeted interventions that support each technician’s unique journey.”
Interplay’s career development platform also offers:
- Immersive learning experiences: Learners experience VR and simulation-based training in a safe, immersive environment, enhancing knowledge retention, engagement, and skill-building.
- Ready-made, enterprise-grade solutions: A scalable cloud-based platform provides secure access anytime, anywhere, with user-friendly functionality.
- Reporting API: Powerful data from Interplay’s career development platform can be integrated into other software systems for additional analysis and reporting.
- Customizable platform: Deliver the platform with your own brand logos and colors, and customize learning paths to include your company’s values, employer strategy, and ways of working.
- Convenience and compatibility: Interplay Enterprise delivers flexibility and mobile compatibility to maximize accessibility for on-the-go workers.
- World-class enterprise service and support: Interplay Learning is a strategic partner for career development consulting, implementation, insights, and U.S.-based support.
The Interplay Enterprise career development platform is now generally available–some of the mentioned new features and capabilities will be released in the Summer and Fall of 2024. For more information about Interplay Enterprise, visit www.interplaylearning.com/enterprise.
The leading provider of immersive skilled trades training joins the ranks of Nvidia, YouTube, Taco Bell and more Interplay Learning has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024. The leading provider of immersive skilled trades training ranks #6 in the Applied AI category. Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies Read more
The leading provider of immersive skilled trades training joins the ranks of Nvidia, YouTube, Taco Bell and more
Interplay Learning has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024. The leading provider of immersive skilled trades training ranks #6 in the Applied AI category.
Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024 list shines a spotlight on businesses that are shaping industry and culture through their innovations. These organizations are setting new standards and achieving remarkable milestones in all sectors of the economy. Alongside the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies, Fast Company recognizes 606 organizations across 58 sectors and regions.
“At Interplay, we believe in the power of training to not only improve people’s lives but to transform businesses and tackle key issues like the skilled labor shortage,” said Doug Donovan, Interplay Learning’s founder and CEO. “By using innovative technology like AI and VR to train skilled trades workers, we’re helping individuals find paths to rewarding careers and providing businesses with powerful tools to drive long-term growth.”
As demand for home services continues to surge, skilled trades businesses remain understaffed and struggle to hire workers. Interplay is addressing this industry challenge by providing innovative training solutions to help companies ramp workers faster and retain them longer. Interplay’s most recent innovation is SAM (Skill Advisor and Mentor), the first AI-powered mentor for learning and skill development in the skilled trades. SAM helps learners when they are training in Interplay’s award-winning platform by answering questions, encouraging critical thinking, fostering deep understanding, and accelerating the learning process.
SAM’s unique ability to help people gain skills faster and learn more efficiently is just one example of how Interplay’s innovative training solutions are empowering employers, educational institutions, and workforce development organizations with tools to solve the skilled labor gap and reimagine the way they approach workforce development.
Interplay’s digital training platform allows learners to practice high-demand, hands-on skills in a safe environment so companies can hire people with no experience and get them to be job-ready and productive faster. The use of virtual reality (VR) and simulation-based training provides businesses with a competitive edge and serves as a recruiting tool for them to attract a more diverse pool of workers and retain them longer with cross-skilling and career advancement – all important advantages in an industry dealing with a significant labor shortage. In addition, Interplay can act as a world-class mobile learning center, providing access to transformational career training to underserved communities throughout the world.
The World’s Most Innovative Companies stands as Fast Company‘s hallmark franchise and one of its most anticipated editorial efforts of the year. Fast Company’s editors and writers identified the companies driving progress around the world and across industries, evaluating thousands of submissions through a competitive application process. The result is a globe-spanning guide to innovation today, from early-stage startups to some of the most valuable companies in the world.
“Our list of the Most Innovative Companies is both a comprehensive look at the innovation economy and a snapshot of the business trends that defined the year,” said Fast Company editor-in-chief Brendan Vaughan. “We saw extraordinary innovation across the board in 2023, but we also saw a handful of clear patterns: the growing footprint and impact of AI, the triumphant return of live events, and great leaps forward in climate tech. We face daunting challenges on many fronts, but the solutions we celebrate in MIC give me plenty of hope about the future.”
To learn more about Interplay Learning’s ongoing commitment to innovation and the transformation of skilled trades training, visit Interplay Learning.