Skills shortages hit the UK gaming industry
The UK gaming industry announced that it has a shortage of graduates that have the necessary skills to work within the industry and blames British universities for failing to equip its students with the required skills.
The industry campaign group Games Up issued the warning and says that game developers in the UK are facing a serious shortage of skills. The Games Up group says that there are now 81 video game courses in British universities, but only 4 of them are endorsed by Skillset; the government body that monitors these courses.
Games developers say that a lack of the quality of graduates looking to enter the sector, and a shortage of mathematicians and computer scientists that are needed to produce these increasingly sophisticated games is starting to affect the industry.
A statement from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe said that there is a need for a centre of excellence for the sector, to ensure that students were prepared for jobs within the gaming industry.
Over the past few years, Britain had become one of the leading games development nations, but has recently slipped to fourth behind Canada. The Canadian government’s support of the industry has allowed it to become one of the top countries, leading to thousands of jobs moving from Britain to Canada.