UK games industry addresses skills shortage

  • By Natasha Lomas, GameSpot UK
  • Posted Jul 8, 2008 9:28 am PT

Forum hears that games companies need to take a more active role in academia, and universities need to ensure they start to equip graduates for the industry.

The UK games industry needs to play a more active role in academia, helping to shape the syllabi of university courses to ensure game development students graduate with the right skills for industry, a Westminster Media Forum Keynote Seminar on the UK computer games industry has heard.

A games industry lobby group recently warned UK games developers are struggling to find staff as dedicated video games courses are failing to equip university grads with the right skills for the workplace.

Of the 81 undergraduate courses on offer in the UK, only four are accredited by government body Skillset--three in Scotland and one in Wales.

Speaking at the Forum, Kate O'Connor, executive director of policy and development at Skillset, said university applications for Skillset accreditation for games development courses "trickled" in when the scheme was first launched, and "have now completely stopped."

O'Connor said: "What we'd like to see happen now is an energetic approach to accrediting the kitemark that the industry's developed, that the industry's willing to support, that the industry's spent time promoting--and would like a push to support the higher education institutions... This is about providing incentives for higher education to work more closely with industry."

She added: "We'd like the industry to really step up to the plate in all sorts of ways to work with higher education to be supportive in the work that they do so we can co-ordinate greater input into the curriculum and support that they provide for higher education courses."

Anthony Watts, a student at the University of Glamorgan who is doing a BSC (Hons) in Computer Games--one of Skillset's kitemarked courses--said students would welcome industry getting more involved in syllabus creation and development--or "educating the educators"--if it meant they could graduate confident they have the necessary skills for employment. He added that students he's talked to "often have a surprisingly vague idea" of the skills they need to enter the industry.

Watts said: "Skill requirements vary widely from company to company--[so] it can be very difficult for an academic institution to tailor an appropriate syllabus that will be attractive across the board."

Watts pointed out that many UK grads are seeking work abroad in countries such as Canada where prospects can be better--and said the UK games industry must therefore play its part in ensuring skilled and talented grads don't go elsewhere.

He said: "Surely in these circumstances it pays for the developers to have as much influence as possible over the skills brought in by graduates and junior staff."

Also speaking at the event was Mary Matthews, strategy and business development director of Blitz Games Studios, who conceded skills shortages in the UK "are constraining our business."

She said job applicants from overseas made up 9 percent last year but, up to July this year, are 27 percent. "We can't do what we want to do because we can't find the right people," she said. "UK graduates who come to us don't have the right portfolios, they don't have the skillsets we're looking for."

Matthews said Blitz invests about 4 percent of its salary bill in training and outreach, and while she said this is an area in which every business should invest, she added "what concerns us is the level we are having to invest." She said: "We're having to bring people up to even the basic level--and that's taking about 1 percent of that spend."

Internal initiatives include an academy to pass on skills through peer-to-peer mentoring, and "an apprenticeship finishing school for young programmers who perhaps don't quite have the skillset we need." Of the six people taken on that scheme last year, all of them have stayed at Blitz.

But when it comes to working to develop skills for the good of the whole industry--rather than specifically for those people inside (or likely to stay inside) its own four walls--Matthews said it can feel like "giving and giving and giving into a black hole."

She said: "We'd like to be incentivised to work more closely with universities... As a business we expect to see some return on investment."

Matthews added: "If we're going to create these wonderful smart people to work in the games industry we need to give a strong games industry to go with it. We need to make sure the UK is a fantastic place to do business. We need a government that's absolutely committed to supporting the industry--that's absolutely clear on the value of innovation and creativity."

This story was originally published on GameSpot UK sister site silicon.com.

11 Comments

  • razgriz_101

    Posted Jul 9, 2008 3:07 am PT

    Corrosion yet GTA IV is made in Edinburgh at Rockstar North yet its probably the best selling game this gen.

    i think the problem is in Britain is there is shortages everywhere cause no one knows what they want to do.im joining the RAF as an Aircraft Engineer.rather than follow the path of being a programmer cause there are far more incentives.if the British govt made more incentives for this,i think i heard that the SNP the ruling party in Scotland had a plan to teach kids about developement of games and that industry as part of Computing dunno if it fell through though.
    all i think they need is more incentives.thats about it.

  • shinchy

    Posted Jul 9, 2008 2:15 am PT

    The reason there is a lack is in reality because of the bad pay and long hours. I've seen many jobs posted that I could have applied for but I would rather work for a web company doing web-based games, apps and sites because the money is so much better (esp in the financial area). Then add to that I've no worry of having to work like a dog, till 9pm every night and you leave little incentive to get into the games industry.

  • jake21

    Posted Jul 8, 2008 2:12 pm PT

    I passed my animation course with a first, iv applied to EA, Rockstar, Rare ect all which just got back saying they arnt recruiting. now they say there is a lack of skill..geez

  • kavadias1981

    Posted Jul 8, 2008 12:23 pm PT

    @cikame - I'm working damned hard to become a teacher and I'm British (actually I'm of Greek origin so there may be truth to what you say lol). To comment on the report, I heard about this weeks ago on BBC news. Then they were complaining about not enough students passing the courses. Now they are saying that those that pass aren't qualified enough? What does this mean? The end of the future for British developers? They could always hire foreigners, just like football teams.

  • cikame

    Posted Jul 8, 2008 11:13 am PT

    I've always had a hard time associating the word "skill" with "britain", everyone i meet can't be bothered to do anything and if they can be bothered they don't do whatever it is well.
    Take my job for example, every manager is dumb, every employee is tired, every customer is stuck in a constant loop and no one knows how to drive a car.
    There may be a shortage in people teaching game development because the teachers arn't teachers.... they are game developers.... developing games, if you know how to develop games you arn't going to feel like your using them to the best of your ability if all your doing is making people remember answers so they pass an exam.
    I'm the same i can't be bothered, i know i can't be bothered and i don't do anything about it because i'm british.

  • Viral-venom13

    Posted Jul 8, 2008 10:49 am PT

    I'd like to see this industry develop well in the UK and have excellent game designed students being thought a well rounded education in the gaming field however, i don't think they may get that full support that they require especially from a source like the Government as most Governments do no take on that much of a liking towards the gaming industry seeing as how it has been known for the large excess of violence produce in its games. The industry should not be disregarded in this respect but knowing the government and all that they must uphold, i don't think they'll provide full support!!

  • R-Force

    Posted Jul 8, 2008 10:35 am PT

    Some poignant views there. I'd love to see the barrier for entry into the UK video games market made a lot less blurry in the future.

  • moph_dog

    Posted Jul 8, 2008 10:06 am PT

    I want a job in the UK games industry, Rock* London took down their advertisement for "Physics Programmer" before I got back from Glastonbury though ....
    Hopefully these kinda breaks will help me make games to amaze you lot!

  • NinjaMunkey01

    Posted Jul 8, 2008 9:51 am PT

    Gamespot has been really slow with this. I found this out on BBC news about a month or so ago AND then posted about it on the SW forums. GS you really need to speed up with this stuff.

    On topic: this is a problem. I dont think that enough people take the gaming industry seriously enough yet, people dont realise that it does make a huge amount of money, in some cases more than films. this is a problem that hopefully will be fixed with time.

  • Tremblay343

    Posted Jul 8, 2008 9:42 am PT

    The UK normally gets the shaft when it comes to games and release dates. Maybe if more of them did these programming and game design courses they could have more UK based developers. This could get them release dates that are closer to the Japanese And NA release dates. Rock Band is a great example of this.

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