What is it about?
The IPS model of supported employment is the gold standard vocational rehabilitation program. We have shown for the first time that virtual reality job interview training improves employment for IPS clients with who don't typically benefit from IPS.
Why is it important?
Our findings show that virtual interview training improves interview skills, reduces interview anxiety, increases employment, and reduces time-to-employment. The easy-to-access virtual interview tool is hosted by a website and employment specialists can monitor their clients' progress through an administrative portal. Above all, the findings of this study are critical because we found that the IPS clients who benefited the most were those who were unable to find employment within their first 3 months of IPS. Among this subgroup, the virtual interview group were employed at 52% by 9 month follow-up compared to 19% in the comparison group who did not practice virtual interview training.