Facility Voices
The Facility Voices podcast is brought to you by ARC Facilities – Providing Instant Mobile Access to Building Information for on-the-go Facilities teams. To learn more about our Smart Building Technology for the Built Space, visit arcfacilities.com.
Your host is David Trask, National Director and Industry Speaker at ARC Facilities.
David brings you stories from the front lines of Facilities via conversations with Facilities Management leaders from across the nation. You'll hear real-world stories about leadership, coaching, mentorship, a day in the life of, and so much more!
Facility Voices
Innovating Through the Trades Shortage
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
On this episode of Facility Voices, David Trask sits down with Robin Cowie, Chief Executive Officer of Skillmaker, to explore how immersive technology is reshaping the future of skilled trades. Robin’s journey begins in South Africa, where his father, an industrial psychologist, used film to train gold miners who couldn’t read or write—an early lesson in meeting people where they are. That philosophy carried Robin from filmmaking and video games to building hands-on, tech-enabled training solutions for today’s workforce.
Now at Skillmaker, Robin is focused on closing the skilled labor gap by accelerating competency through virtual reality, mixed reality, and smart glasses. He shares how immersive training can elevate entry-level technicians, preserve institutional knowledge, and empower teams to work smarter—not harder. It’s a conversation about innovation, respect for the trades, and the human side of technology in motion.
Tune in to hear Robin Cowie’s story and insights from the front lines of facilities management.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each episode of Facility Voices includes supplementary content that expands on key themes and insights from the conversation. You can find that additional material at: https://www.arcfacilities.com/facilityvoices
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robin Cowie is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Skillmaker.ai, where he leads the development of immersive training for skilled trades and vocational fields. He previously pioneered VR-based electrician training as CTO at Promising People and served as Senior Narrative Producer at Electronic Arts, contributing to six AAA titles including Madden NFL: Longshot. A co‑founder of Haxan Films and producer of The Blair Witch Project, Robin has raised over $20 million in private equity to advance technology and media ventures.
Thanks for listening. Follow David Trask on LinkedIn to share feedback. Visit the ARC Facilities LinkedIn page
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The views and opinions expressed by third-party guests on this podcast are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of ARC Facilities and ARC Document Solutions. We provide a platform for diverse perspectives and discussions and ARC Facilities/ARC Document Solutions assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content provided by our third-party guests.
.png)