BT today announced that it has launched immersive spaces for business and public sector customers – creating the UK market’s first 5G-enabled interactive simulation experience.

Launched in partnership with Immersive Interactive Ltd, BT Immersive Spaces simulate real-life environments within an internal or external room, or mobile unit – to create an interactive immersive experience.

The fully immersive rooms are connected to the EE mobile network, using cameras and HD projectors to bring 360° content to life across the space’s walls and floor. Inside the space, users can experience real-life or imagined scenarios in detail, and add interactive elements – virtually transporting themselves into simulated environments, augmented with lights, sounds, and even smells.

Each space comes with a content library of more than 3,000 computer-generated scenarios, real-life environments, games and training experiences. BT Immersive Spaces can be used for anything from training paramedics in a simulated, gamified roadside accident scene or hospital unit, to recreating fan experiences at a football match, important historical moments, or even a trip to a beach in Thailand. The spaces are also compatible with VR, AR and XR technologies to enhance the user experience.

Immersive Spaces offers use cases across a huge variety of sectors. BT is experiencing early demand for training and development use cases across education, healthcare, retail, transport, tourism, construction and sport – creating virtual experiences inside operating theatres, buses, warehouses, supermarkets, building sites and arenas. They are suitable for any business or organisation with a learning or development requirement.

Initial customers for BT Immersive Spaces include Borders College in Galashiels, Scotland and Cadoxton Primary School in South Wales. Both are using the technology to create fully immersive and interactive classrooms.

“The children absolutely love it,” said Hannah Cogbill, senior leadership at Cadoxton Primary School.  “Their favourite one so far is life under the sea. We can't wait to explore more of the experiences and collections and then begin to develop our own content. We are looking forward to using it to support our children's development and progression of imaginative writing. But it will also be a great scaffold to support learners with pre-experiences that they might be nervous about – for example catching a train or going on an aeroplane.”

Construction students at Borders College, who have previously not had the opportunity to access large-scale inner-city developments for on-site learning, can now experience first-hand teachings of the construction environment using the technology. Students taking courses from engineering to medical and health and social care also benefit, as they can manage real-life scenarios and increase their understanding of working in each career path. This will include Electrical Safe Isolation, ambulance training and dementia training.

David Lowe, Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Sustainability at Borders College, said: “Thanks to this new innovative 5G enabled equipment from BT, there will no longer be a divide between the opportunities offered to rural and inner-city students. Our students will be able to learn from wide-ranging developments, which is incredibly important in helping them to navigate their career opportunities and understand where their preferences lie in this diverse sector. As lecturers, it will give us far more agility to update our courses as new practices and techniques enter the market, which will unlock a wider and ‘green’ range of skills among students.”

BT’s Immersive Spaces are the first in the UK to allow customers to edit and create interactive content of their choice. As well as a pre-populated content library, this includes the option to film, edit and even live stream their own videos using a 360° camera, supplied by BT.

Alex Foster, Director at Division X – BT’s business innovation team, said: “Immersive Spaces bring together EE’s unrivalled connectivity with the very best immersive tech – combining the real and digital worlds to create new benefits for business and public sector organisations. This technology has the potential to be a game changer for training and development in any industry. Putting the power of immersive content into the hands of customers allows people to experience learning in a completely new way that is targeted specifically to their needs – which can significantly improve information retention and problem-solving skills. It can also enrich remote sales experiences, add a new layer to gaming and sports, and transport people virtually to any location, anywhere, during any point in history.”

BT’s Immersive Spaces are fully supported by EE’s 4G and 5G network. With 5G, users can live-stream content from a real-life location directly into the BT Immersive Space. Where this isn’t possible, they can download content and store content over 4G or even fixed fibre.

David Salt, MD at Immersive Interactive Ltd, said: “The potential for immersive technologies is huge. Being able to interact with every surface of an immersive room, as well as enjoy additional sounds, smells and sensory effects, allows people to become truly submerged and virtually transported to new environments, as if they were experiencing the real thing. We are thrilled to be working with BT to bring this technology, with limitless potential, to businesses and consumers who can benefit from learning in a new, interactive way.”

BT provides customers with an end-to-end service – from building and preparing Immersive Spaces, providing 360° video equipment, right through to training and guidance on how to use the spaces, as well as 24/7 customer service support.

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• First-of-a-kind programme to address industry-wide cyber skills gap will see BT employees retrained and placed into cyber security roles
• BT is investing in its people and is offering a life-changing career move
• Digital hands-on curriculum provided by BT’s accredited learning partner CAPSLOCK and developed around common cyber security workplace scenarios

BT is today launching a pilot employee cyber security reskilling programme in collaboration with award-winning cyber security training organisation, CAPSLOCK. The online 16-week course will retrain current BT employees and equip them with the skills needed to pursue a new career in Security – one of the fastest growing parts of BT.

The programme is being launched to help tackle the shortfall of people with cyber security skills, which has become a serious issue for businesses of all types. The Department for Digital Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) estimates that approximately half of UK organisations have a basic cyber skills gap, while at the same time, the ‘Great Resignation’ is signalling a thirst for change amongst the nation’s workforce.

After a rigorous recruitment process, 30 employees have been selected from BT’s Consumer and Global divisions across the UK and will start the scheme today with an in-person induction day in Birmingham. Course participants will secure a new cyber security role at the end of the programme.

BT learners will study an accredited, interactive and team-based learning curriculum. Developed and delivered by CAPSLOCK’s industry experts and academic professionals, it will simulate the full spectrum of real-world cyber problems from managing incidents, detecting malware and social engineering threats, to penetration testing, governance, risk and policy. This career-changing opportunity will provide BT learners with sought after skills and up to five certifications.

Perceptions of the cyber security profession unfortunately remain centred around those with a set of highly specialised technical skills. The reality is that the field needs a broad array of skills and experts to fill a range of roles, many of which rely on transferable skills that some people already possess or, importantly, can be easily developed through a programme such as CAPSLOCK.

Although BT will offer learners a number of roles suited to both technical and non-technical skillsets, it is the harder-to-fill more technical roles that this programme will address. Jobs available will include cyber operations, threat intelligence and technical design and will be located in Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham and Glasgow.

What’s more, during the course CAPSLOCK will provide dedicated learner support including one-to-one professional coaching, careers counselling and mental health first aiders.

The new launch of the programme reinforces BT’s investment in its people across the organisation and its commitment to training, development, and now reskilling to future-proof its employees’ careers. Learners will also be paired up with BT cyber mentors to ensure they are successful in their career transition.

Once graduated, BT’s new cyber employees will become a Protector, contributing to the protection of BT, its 30 million UK customers, governments, and critical national infrastructure.

Kevin Brown, Managing Director, BT Security said: “There simply aren’t enough people with the necessary skills to fill the amount of cyber security jobs available. The ‘cyber skills gap’ is a hot topic in the security industry, and this pilot reskilling programme with CAPSLOCK is a key part of how we’re working to develop the next generation of cyber security professionals. The scheme is all about opening doors for those who might not have seen an obvious way into a security career, and we’re welcoming people who have different skillsets, backgrounds and ages as we’re really looking for a diverse range of talent across our security team.”

Dr Andrea Cullen, Co-founder at CAPSLOCK said: “Our mission in partnership with BT is to enable anybody with potential to enrol and change careers into cyber security. Importantly, we want to change perceptions that it is not just technical skills that are required to do well in this sector. The reality is that the field needs a broad array of skills and experts to fill a range of roles, many of which rely on transferable skills that many people already possess, and the holistic cyber skills which are developed throughout the CAPSLOCK course. With the right attitude and determination, anybody – no matter their past experience, education or age – has the potential to start a career in IT, technology, or cyber security.”

-ENDS-

About BT Security:

As a global leader of managed security services, we help customers thrive in a digital world by delivering world-class security solutions. With operations in over 180 countries and a team of 3000 security experts around the globe, BT supports some of the world’s largest companies, nation states and critical national infrastructures.

We protect our networks against around 6500 cyber-attacks every day, and this deep expertise combined with our global reach gives us a unique perspective on the cyber landscape. We’re constantly analysing, predicting and responding to the latest threats, and we leverage the latest developments in technology and innovation to protect the UK’s infrastructure, business and citizens.

For more information, visit www.bt.com/security

 Further useful links:

• BT Security Careers Page
• Who are the Protectors? – YouTube
• Meet the Real Protectors - YouTube

About CAPSLOCK:

CAPSLOCK is an award-winning educational organisation that delivers cyber security bootcamps online, with no up-front costs. They help adults fully re-skill to become qualified cyber professionals in as little as four months, by removing barriers to career-changing education whilst bringing greater diversity into the cyber security sector. CAPSLOCK are interested in a learner's potential rather than in their past, so there are no academic entry requirements needed to enrol. Their graduates have been hired by the BBC, ITV, Allianz, BT, Dyson, PwC and many more. In 2021, they were named the 'Most Innovative Cyber Security SME of the Year' by the UK government.