Video gamers hope to solve skill shortage

13:25 9th July 2008

A human resources website for video game programmers is to be set up in an effort to combat the current skills shortage problem in the industry.

The networking site for video, TV and film companies - which has been funded by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) - is part of a £450,000 fund intended to increase innovation in the entertainment sectors.

The Independent Games Developers Association (Tiga) said it will launch the social networking jobs portal in January 2009, to help overcome the growing skills shortage among UK games developers.

Richard Wilson, Tiga's chief executive officer, commented: "Skill shortages are a major problem for games developers, and therefore I am delighted we can provide a range of human resource solutions for the games industry, including the recruitment of staff, job sharing and job swapping."

Last month a gaming industry campaign group warned that the UK videogames industry is suffering because UK university courses aren’t equipping students with the right skills needed for the job.

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