Photo submitted to the Times Observer Student-developed virtual business tours are an outgrowth of discussions that have occurred through Warren Worx.

Warren Worx has partnered with the Warren County Career Center and local businesses to bring business tours into the future using Virtual Reality headsets and a three dimensional camera.

Joe McClellan, Warren County Career Center STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) instructor, has helped guide Warren Worx to buy the technology and will lead the filming this summer. The project will be more than a tour of local businesses. John Papalia, vice president of the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry, envisions a deeper dive into how things work in a business and focusing on the types of jobs that are available in Warren County.

“Where we’re at right now in the process is starting to build out what a film schedule will look like. We hope to get a couple businesses done this summer, working with the instructor. Going into the fall, we want to have a good schedule to film and then do that alongside the students while they’re in session,” Papalia said. “The students in the STEM classes can go out and actually be part of the video build out process in addition to tooling up the videos that will go on the VR headset. Where we plan to start right now is with a couple manufacturers. I think one of our first ones out of the gate will be Whirley DrinkWorks.”

WarrenWorx will have six virtual reality headsets that can be used by teachers and students in the career center or other schools in the district.

The videos will focus on careers that are available right out of high school as well as positions that require a two or four year college degree.

“There will definitely be a big focus on higher skilled needs that require two years or four years or whatever degrees to make happen,” Papalia said.

One purpose of these videos is to expose local students to the opportunities that exist in Warren County and let students know that, if they do go to college, there are good jobs in the county when they come back.

“How can we keep the people that are living here and that, you know, maybe aren’t going to a four year college to stay here and highlight the opportunities that they have available,” said Jenny Phillips, Warren Worx marketing director. “And then those that do go get that four year degree, knowing what Warren County has to offer, that it’s not just a kind of a place that you grew up. It’s somewhere that you can also have a family and have your kids grow up here and thrive. That’s really what we’re trying to do as a whole with these three virtual tours.”

Phillips said her own career is one example of a youth leaving the area and then choosing to come back.

“I’m a boomerang,” she said. “I left (Warren) for eight or nine years and I thought you know, why don’t I go home for a while? There’s so much there between all the industries that we have. And, you know, I got here, got a job and it felt like I never should have left. Now I’ve been settled here for 16 years and I can’t imagine ever leaving.”

This project was made possible by a variety of partners ranging from the city and county support of Warren Worx to private business and local foundations.

Warren Worx, under the auspices of the Warren County Chamber of Business and in partnership with Warren County and the City of Warren, is spearheading an initiative aimed at combating the decline in population throughout Warren County. Warren County is facing an 11% population decrease by the year 2050, according to the Center for Rural PA.