LG Chem New Employee Training Goes to the Metaverse

First Metaverse Training for New Employees in the Petrochemical Industry

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] As the boundary between reality and virtual space is being broken down with the activation of the "Metaverse," the training landscape for new employees at LG Chem is also changing.

LG Chem announced on the 23rd that it conducted online new employee training for the Petrochemical Business Division using an online virtual space platform. This is the first time in the petrochemical industry that a metaverse platform has been extended to new employee training.

The metaverse new employee training was introduced as part of a soft landing program prepared by the Petrochemical Business Division for MZ generation (Millennials + early 2000s-born generation) new employees. The purpose is to overcome the limitations of non-face-to-face education, increase new employees' participation, and satisfy the fun of learning.

The virtual education center was composed of a large auditorium, job training rooms, classrooms, lounges, and a cafeteria to create an education and communication environment similar to reality. New employees from production, R&D, sales, administration, TS&D, and staff organizations who joined within the last two months can naturally acquire job information and company life tips placed throughout the virtual space as they move around.

In meeting rooms prepared for each group, they solve group assignments together using characters and video chat, and in private counseling rooms where voices do not carry unlike in the auditorium, they can share concerns with senior colleagues in the field. In the large auditorium, they also had an open conversation time with No Guk-rae, head of the Petrochemical Business Division, who appeared as a look-alike avatar just like the new employees.

LG Chem aims to show the company's direction of communicating openly with new employees through education via the metaverse. The response from new employees who participated in the training was enthusiastic. LG Chem's Petrochemical Business Division plans to expand the application of the metaverse to various education programs and workshops. A representative from the Petrochemical Business Division's Talent Development Team stated, "We will strive to create a foundation where members can break away from traditional ways of thinking and provide customer value in more creative ways in the actual field."

Meanwhile, besides the metaverse new employee training, the Petrochemical Business Division supports the smooth onboarding of new employees with initiatives such as a "Welcome Package" containing welcome goods like cooling bags made from recycled plastics, a "Getting to Know New Employees" campaign encouraging warm greetings to new hires, and a "Guidebook" for new employees that provides all the necessary information from printer installation to submitting approval documents and workplace life guidance.