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Mimbus to Participate at AWFS Fair with WCA

CHICAGO — Mimbus Inc., a creator and distributor of immersive simulators for manual skills training, announced its planned participation at the AWFS Fair in Las Vegas, taking place July 20-23.

Mimbus Inc. will showcase its immersive solutions 100% dedicated to training for the woodworking industry at booth #1979.

Visitors to the WCA booth will experience live demonstrations of the Virtual Reality solution SimSpray for wood painting, get exclusive insight into the latest features of the Wood Ed products for carpentry training, and learn how the software Vulcan by Mimbus can analyze in real-time the assessments of professional training to better control the training experience and ensure trainee skill achievement.

“We very much look forward to participating in the AWFS Fair 2021 in Las Vegas. It will be the first trade show this year where our team will participate onsite again,” explains Sebastien Bru, head of Mimbus Inc. “We will be present thanks to the support of the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America, a trustful partner for several years now, committed to improving skilled trade training development, like us.”

Members of the Woodwork Career Alliance will be on hand to discuss how woodworking companies can incorporate the WCA Skill Standards and Passport credentialing program to strengthen their training programs.

“We greatly appreciate our ongoing partnership with Mimbus,” said Scott Nelson, President of the WCA. “Virtual reality is a tremendous tool for instructing students and new employees on the safe operation of equipment used in our industry. I encourage educators and woodworkers attending the show to stop by the booth and see the potential of these systems first-hand.”

The AWFS Fair brings together the entire home and commercial furnishings industry, including manufacturers and distributors of machinery, hardware, plastics, lumber, construction materials, and other suppliers to the furniture, cabinet manufacturers, and custom woodworkers.

Additional information about the AWFS Fair 2021 is available at awfsfair.org.

About Mimbus Inc.
Founded in 2011, Mimbus revolutionizes vocational training, by providing the instructors with innovative tools allowing to train their students faster, in a totally safe way, and with lower costs. Specialized in the learning of manual skills, Mimbus offers a range of nearly 15 virtual training solutions covering the learning of about 20 manual trades, all of them connected to VULCAN, the unique platform that tracks, controls, and adapts the student learning path for more efficient training. Mimbus is a French company with a subsidiary based in Chicago, Illinois. mimbus.com

About the Woodwork Career Alliance
Founded in 2007, the mission of the Woodwork Career Alliance (WCA) is to support workforce development for the woodworking industry, which includes certification and training of new and existing woodworking professionals as well as students at both the high school and post-secondary levels. Woodworking students and professionals can earn an industry-approved and recognized credential based on observable, measurable standards and evaluations. Every participant in the program starts by purchasing a Passport that will record their achievements as they move through the process. woodworkcareer.org

Contestants Wanted for WCA Bandsaw Skills Challenge at IWF

Competition will put real-world woodworkers to the test in a virtual reality world.

Nellysford, VA – Woodworkers attending the International Woodworking Fair in Atlanta, can compete for prizes and bragging rights by entering the WCA Bandsaw Skills Challenge. The competition will be held all four days of the show, Aug. 22-25, at the Woodwork Career Alliance of North America’s booth #4154.

Through special arrangement with Mimbus, contestants will put their bandsaw skills to the test by operating the Wood-Ed Table, a virtual reality training system. Mimbus Inc. of Chicago, IL, created the Wood-Ed Table as a training tool to teach students and novices how to operate basic woodworking machinery in a safe, dust-free environment. In addition to the bandsaw, the Wood-Ed Table features three other woodworking machinery simulation modules: a ripsaw, jointer, and shaper.

“The Bandsaw Skills Challenge will be a great way to attract woodworkers into our booth and spark conversations about the WCA’s Woodworking Skill Standards and credential Passport program,” said Scott Nelson, president of the WCA. “It will be fun to watch contestants operate a virtual reality bandsaw that functions much like the real thing but without the sawdust.”

The WCA Bandsaw Skills Challenge will be held continuously at the WCA’s booth. Participants will don a virtual reality headset and complete a brief bandsaw exercise on the Wood-Ed Table. The Vulcan software that operates the Wood-Ed Table will score each contestant on cutting regularity, hand positioning, time management and more. A leader board will highlight the competition’s high scores.

Workforce Development Seminar
The WCA also will showcase its woodworking skill standards and programs through its participation in IWF’s educational conference.

The WCA will present, “Growing Your Skilled Workforce,” 10:30 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Aug. 22. The seminar will pair Nelson with Kent Gilchrist, director of operations and design for Purposeful Designs of Indianapolis, IN. The presenters will discuss how to use the WCA Woodworking Skill Standards and training resources to train new hires and develop the skills of current employees. Learn more and register at iwfatlanta.com.

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About the Woodwork Career Alliance
The Woodwork Career Alliance of North America was founded in 2007 as a 501C(3) non-profit corporation and is governed by a volunteer board of directors. The WCA’s mission is to develop and administer a unified set of Skill Standards for the wood products industry. Since 2011, WCA has developed observable and measurable performance standards and assessments for more than 240 woodworking machine operations. In addition, WCA has issued more than 1,600 Passports, a portable, personal permanent record documenting each holder’s record of achievements as a woodworking professional. More than 100 high schools and post-secondary schools throughout North America are WCA EDUcation® members. To learn more about the WCA and how to get involved with its programs, including sponsorship opportunities, visit WoodworkCareer.org.