Companies and schools are trying virtual reality for skilled trades training
Benton Graham
May 5, 2026
The technology enables a broad sharing of best practices, but there are limitations, instructors say.
When Southern Home Services hired Matt Ellenberg to be its senior technical training manager in 2023, he had a mandate from the company: increase the number of training opportunities for employees. It was a challenging task for a company with 27 locations across 11 cities, from the East Coast to Austin, Texas.
“The day I got hired, it was very clear that there was a total lack of technical training,” Ellenberg, director of training at SHS, told Facilities Dive. “It just didn’t exist at all.”
That first year he spent 240 nights in hotels, traveling the country to train the company’s employees on the latest advances in HVAC technology, plumbing and facilities management. To find a way to do it more efficiently, Ellenberg contacted a company called Interplay Learning that, in part, offers simulations using Meta Quest VR headsets.
