Coinciding with the growth of the augmented and virtual reality industries, there are tons of new job opportunities. New companies spawned by the tech will be welcoming new employees and established companies will be welcoming new faces as they tackle the new opportunities VR and AR afford their businesses.
In New York, the current Mayor has laid out a plan to create 10,000 jobs for middle-class citizens. As reported by bklyner, part of that plan includes a newly announced VR/AR lab that will be opening at the Brooklyn Navy Yard this year.
The project received $6 million in funding from both the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, with Mayor Bill de Blasio sharing a few words in the press release for the development. “Augmented and Virtual Reality represents a huge new industry, and we want New York City to be second to none,” he says. “We’re investing in the space, the talent, and the research needed to make New York the global hub for this emerging technology.”
The lab will be a partnership with CUNY Lehman College’s VR/AR Training Academy and Development Lab, preparing New Yorkers for inevitable jobs in the immersive fields. Taking such an initiative could position New York well as more industries that benefit from virtual and augmented reality sprout up.
The lab is part of the Mayor’s plan to create middle-class jobs in technology, life sciences, creative, and manufacturing industries over the next 10 years. The VR/AR lab, which will occupy a 15,000-square-feet at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, will generate roughly 500 jobs over that 10-year span after the targeted opening at the end of 2017.
“Equal opportunity and access, through education and job training, is the bedrock of our jobs strategy, and together we will continue to rise,” the Mayor added.
