Tiga, a trade association for game developers in the U.K. and Europe, has questioned the value of videogame courses in the U.K., saying graduates are leaving educational institutions lacking employable skills.
In a speech at the the Northern Exposure conference, Tiga CEO Fred Hasson said, “What companies have been telling us is that very few of those graduates that come out of so-called games courses are fit for purpose. In fact, one quote we had back from a company was, ‘we don’t know if we’d even use them for QA.’
“Basically, these courses are a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but no basic foundations for a skill set.”
Tiga is in talks with the U.K. government to examine the changes and opportunities for the country’s creative industries, a process Hasson said is essential in order for the games industry to stand out as a unique component of the sector. “For better or for worse, the games industry is lumped in with all the other creative industries,” he said. “If we don’t tell the government what we want then they’re not going to listen.”
According to its website, “Tiga’s overarching objective is to keep developers in the UK and Europe at the heart of the global games industry, by ensuring a favorable business environment.” Members include Codemasters, Midway, Free Radical and numerous other studios and affiliated businesses. Tiga provides a wide range of information and services to developers, publishers and other parties, including model contracts, R&D tax credit information, and liaisons with various levels of U.K. government.
