Originally published January 29, 2025 by Ken Slats - https://www.sccpss.com/departments/public-affairs/videos
YouTube - https://youtu.be/1jdyvcq3su8?si=BiPuDN-0-PIZjpWB
Peter Chronopoulos: We wanted to provide an untapped labor pool to the market, and partnering with schools such as Groves High School and Savannah, Chatham County was a perfect opportunity. BluWorkz was founded in Southern California in 2017 with a mission to onboard, train, and maintain the blue collar workforce. We developed a forklift, the Real Forklift virtual reality simulator. And then we partnered with Savannah Technical College.
And that's how we moved our business, to Savannah area because we saw a big growth opportunity with Hyundai coming in. There's a big job explosion, growth. So we really wanted to get this technology into the high schools. Because you actually have to be 18 years old to drive a forklift. But what better way for kids to get, good seat time to practice in a virtual environment?
It teaches them all the basics of forklift driving. It builds that muscle memory, and it gets it prepared to get forklift certified faster.
Dr. Gina Smith: When I need, extra software for different equipment that comes out. He can supply that onto that virtual reality. So those kids can actually, you know, train for what they need. Down the street, they were needing cherry pickers. He can actually give me that software so the kids can know how to use cherry pickers, turret trucks.
They need to know how to use those. We're talking about jockey trucks. We're talking about all these different things that these kids need to know and be exposed to that can do that.
Peter Chronopoulos: We wanted to to be able to create these, pathways for, underserved communities to get placed into these high demand jobs.
Dr. Gina Smith: Our students are trained to go. They're ready. So they need these students that are already fully trained and certified to take these positions.
Peter Chronopoulos: The two simulators that, that they did purchase will be able to train about, 10 to 20 students per week.
Dr. Gina Smith: You have to be 18 years old to be on a physical forklift. But with this trainer, I can train them at any age to be a forklift driver.
Peter Chronopoulos: And then they can print their certificate of completion, and share it with potential employers. So a lot of, the data and analytics that the software captures, it really corrects bad driving behavior and reinforces good driving. And then the administrators can see where the problem areas are so they can hone in on special problems. So if they're not, you know, looking in reverse before moving forward or honking their horns, there's an instant correction in the software.
Dr. Gina Smith: That can take my 18 year olds once they're certified on that, to an actual site to work, they actually get onto a forklift. Also, it allows them to apply for the jobs that's available at age 18, where they're paying a $20 an hour to run a forklift.
Peter Chronopoulos: The entire curriculum can take anywhere between an hour and 45 minutes to about 3.5 hours, just depending on how good you are. Once you complete all your training, then you earn, certificate of completion or excellence, depending on what your score is, because we're tracking all that. To be able to get this into all the high schools is one of my goals.
So. So we can train high school students and they can be better prepared and apply, because starting pay for forklift operations is anywhere between 18 to $22 an hour. Being here and seeing what, what the industry is like and what the school system is like, it really does feel good that we're actually trying to make a dent in the community, and get this technology in underserved communities.
