UPS: Training Games Improve Driver Test Performance

International shipping company United Parcel Service (UPS) reports that a new training program featuring instructional video games has boosted driver training performance over the past three years. According to a report at The Wall Street Journal, up to 30 percent of UPS driver candidates failed traditional training tests in 2006. New training methods featuring terrain simulations, obstacle courses, and serious game applications have resulted in a failure rate of only 10 percent, among the 1,629 tested applicants. Select driver applicants now spend a week at Integrad, a training center near Washington, D.C. As part of the training, drivers play a simulation game that first tests obstacle identification, then simulates driving and package delivery. The Wall Street Journal notes that the "Clarksville" portion of the training game challenges drivers to make five deliveries in 19 minutes, using speed and safety skills learned from the company's "340 Methods" training lessons. UPS employs 99,000 drivers in the United States, and plans to hire 25,000 additional drivers over the next five years.