ABSTRACT
This chapter sets out some thoughts on the future of programs that set out to train and assess the non-technical skills of operators in high-risk industries. The future development of non-technical skills training programs must focus more keenly on the ways in which they can be successfully integrated with aspects of technical training and on-going professional development. A number of new and emerging technologies have significant potential for enhancing training and assessing non-technical skills. One of these technologies with considerable potential is that of virtual reality training environments. The introduction of these new technologies into non-technical skills training programs demands that they are subjected to scientific evaluation in terms of their effectiveness in enhancing learning. In any high-risk industry, safe and efficient operations are created as an emergent feature of complex distributed systems. It therefore makes sense to focus skill development in the context of these distributed systems, rather than just focusing on the individual operators in isolation.
