How can the UK games industry solve its skills shortage?

Earlier this year, a new report explored new facets of the UK's ongoing skills shortage, both at a mid to senior level but also with a lack of vacancies for entry-level positions.

Skillfull's report also called for a new industry-led body to resolve the situation. But with confusion lingering as to who should fund such a venture, it's worth the industry looking at other, more immediate solutions. That said, immediate should not be confused with short-term; Into Games' head of partnerships and development Brandon Cole emphasises the need for long-term solutions.

"There are numerous challenges that are all interconnected and a holistic approach is needed to be able to resolve them – solving [any] one particular challenge will [not] fix everything," he tells GamesIndustry.biz.

"Into Games believes that there is a serious breakdown in the understanding of the value that entry level talent adds to an organisation, and an unwillingness to give resources to foster and support that talent. There is no lack of talent, talent is everywhere, and academia is training thousands of students every year for roles that the sector needs – the challenge we're trying to fix is getting the sector to invest in those people."

Lien Cross is NDreams' early careers manager, working with the studio's NDreams Academy program for apprenticeships, internships graduate hires. She adds that the growing skills gaps are likely to cause recruitment challenges further down the line, especially if the focus on mid and senior levels results in even fewer opportunities for junior talent. She suggests that, instead of seeking 'quick fixes,' companies should aspire to grow their own talent by putting long-term support and skill development programs in place for their current staff. Larger and well-resourced studios will be better placed to do this, with Cross adding that these companies "should be leading the way" when it comes to investing in junior talent.

She also agrees with the proposal for a new skills body, noting that the industry needs some level of external coordination when it comes to efforts to resolve the shortage – whether that's from the aforementioned body, the trade bodies, or elsewhere.

"The industry should create more roles within studios dedicated to providing career guidance are crucial for ensuring new talent receives the necessary resources and mentorship to thrive in games"

Lien Cross, NDreams

"Until this day comes, studios can make headway by forming partnerships to pool resources, sharing best practices, and collectively addressing challenges related to talent development," she says. "The industry should also advocate for government support and incentives to fund educational programmes and initiatives aimed at developing skills relevant to the gaming sector."

New UKIE CEO Nick Poole also believes government aid will be vital, and with a different party in power following this month's election, the time is ripe to build a new relationship that ultimately secures the support needed – but the industry also needs to make the effort to solve this issue.

"We need to demonstrate that we can take a grown-up and shared approach to meeting our own demand for skills," he says. "At the same time, we need [the] government to create the right conditions for the industry to flourish by using its policy levers – regulatory and financial support – to help us.

"That is why we need the video games and interactive entertainment industry to come together and co-invest (both financially and in terms of energy and commitment) in the creation of a dedicated sector skills organisation. UKIE can be the starter motor for this work, but we cannot be the engine – that drive needs to come from the industry itself."

Cole, however, disagrees that there is any need for a new body, suggesting there are "at least 20 organisations in the UK games sector" already actively working on solving skills challenges. Even though these organisations lack funding and resources, Cole claims they "consistently deliver massive impact in their area."

"A skills body won't necessarily solve the challenges that any of those organisations face, and could in fact exacerbate challenges around funding, exposure and impact that those organisations are already tackling," he says.

"If studios want to fund solutions that tackle the skills crisis, they should look to the organisations that already exist that are generating impact every single day, find one that has shared values, and support them directly. If those organisations have adequate resources to continue their operations into the future, it will allow more time for them to collaborate, report on impact, share knowledge, develop long-term strategy, and actively work with the sector to solve its challenges."

In terms of solutions to the skills crisis, Cross points to the need for outreach to potential future games talent, not only at industry events but also via partnerships and visits with schools, colleges, and universities. Companies should also consider ways to bring young people to them via work experience, and we've previously explored via the GamesIndustry.biz Academy how studios can set up internships and apprenticeships.

"It's more important than ever given the scale of redundancies that we ensure incoming talent don't lose faith in their job search and skill development"

Brandon Cole, Into Games

Cole agrees, adding: "Better links with academia at a regional level – and not just talks, workshops, game jams and the like – are a part of the solution but they don't tackle the root cause as to why students are underprepared for the sector, and why the sector in turn misses out on great talent.

"We are consistently finding [that] studios are opting for talent outside of the UK to fill entry-level roles, and this shows a clear breakdown in communication at a number of levels. We need industry to be actively participating in academia at all levels – supporting outreach and widening participation teams with volunteers and supporting underrepresented talent to succeed, working with educators on developing curricula that supports industry needs, communicating entry level roles at an early stage to university employment teams, and much more.

"There isn't a lack of talent coming through the games skills pipeline – quite the opposite. The challenge is that too many are left behind, or aren't discovering opportunities to progress into a career, largely because we aren't communicating in a constructive way."

Cross adds that it's vital for companies to look at ways they can develop and nurture their existing junior talent, in order to provide a clear pathway of progression. This, she says, is especially important for those needing extra assistance, such as neurodivergent individuals and those from low-socioeconomic backgrounds.

"The industry should create more roles within studios dedicated to providing career guidance, tracking progress, and facilitating skill development," she suggests. "These are crucial for ensuring new talent receives the necessary resources and mentorship to thrive in the industry."

She also advocated companies having support staff specifically for developing people's careers, helping each member of staff understand and progress along their career path – something she says will not only benefit the studio, but the wider industry in the long term.

She acknowledges that the dearth of long-term talent development programs at studios is partly due to a lack of funding, but also wonders whether there is a reluctance among games companies to dedicate time and resources into something "where the payoff isn’t immediate."

"Studios are missing a big opportunity with this short-term thinking," she warns. "Aside from being good for the overall health of our industry, embracing new talent has brought us a lot of value and helped us fill our own, internal skills gaps in hard-to-hire roles.

"We’ve hired more than 50 people into their first gaming roles through the scheme and they have made amazing progress. So for those doubting such a scheme on the grounds that it takes too long to see the rewards, you’ll be surprised at how quickly serious progress can be made."

Smaller studios will likely struggle to accomplish this in the same way as their larger peers, but Cross says even less extensive efforts, such as simply giving a talk at a local college or inviting students to the studio for a playtest, can "make a significant impact with minimal time investment."

Cole adds that most studios he has encountered have at least one person – and often more – who actively works on reaching out to the next generation of talent, although many of them are doing so in their free time.

"Games have such a fantastic culture of giving back, and it doesn't take a huge amount of company resources to implement a volunteering or learning day policy and to actively encourage staff to use their time to support new talent," he says. "This isn't time that studios [lose] – it actively supports staff learning and development, fosters loyalty, and helps support the creation of grassroots talent pipelines. It's a resource cost in the short term, but it pays dividends in the long run."

Cole also encourages studios, especially smaller ones, to look into the funding available via the UK's apprenticeship levy, as another way to support and encourage future talent.

"It's more important than ever given the scale of redundancies across the sector that we ensure incoming talent don't lose faith in their job search and skill development," he says. "Fostering talent at any early stage – in much the same way the sports industry does – is a great way that studios can ensure there is a rich roster of fresh talent who are hungry to prove themselves and develop their skills. The industry will bounce back, and when it does, it will need fresh, excited and passionate folks to drive new and exciting projects."

His comments allude to another potential skills crisis: losing the talent affected by the mass redundancies seen over the last two years. Cross calls for more transition support to help those who have been laid off, suggesting CV workshops and networking opportunities to aid them in securing new roles.

Cole, meanwhile, says there's a desperate need for greater transparency around skills and hiring – salaries, requisite skills, progression routes – and so on, arguing that other industries where these are standard will always be able to entice games talent away by better illustrating how individuals can grow in their own careers.

"It's very common in games for people to make diagonal moves or leave the sector completely – disproportionately so for those from marginalised groups," Cole says. "Without clear progression routes and transparent data around how people can stay and progress within the industry, we will continue to lose great people.

"Ultimately, people want job security. If they are being asked to work for a company with a history of making layoffs, or [offered no] knowledge of how they can progress and how much they're going to get paid for the job, they are going to look elsewhere."

"We need to demonstrate that we can take a grown-up and shared approach to meeting our own demand for skills. At the same time, we need [the] government to create the right conditions for the industry to flourish"

Nick Poole, UKIE

While the recent skills shortage report offered rare data and insight into this issue, UKIE's Poole says more information is needed to fully understand the challenges games companies face.

"One critical aspect often overlooked in the discussion about the skills crisis is the need for better data and analytics to understand the skills gap accurately," he says. "The industry should invest in comprehensive research to map current and future skills requirements, identifying specific areas where shortages are most acute."

Poole adds that a data-driven approach can help identify the areas that need to be addressed first, as well as make sure training programmes are delivering what the industry actually needs. He reasserts that a dedicated skills body could provide this data and research.

Ultimately, it's most important that the industry continues trying to address the skills crisis and actively finds new ways to not only attract young talent but ensure there is a way for them to progress in their careers. This will better prepare the business for future periods of downsizing, and possibly even avoid them.

Cross observes that the games industry is cyclical; while it's going through a period of contraction now via layoffs and studio closures, she expects growth in the near future – and with it, the need for more hires.

"Preparing new talent ensures readiness for future opportunities," she says. "It’s a tough time at the moment for anyone seeking a job in the industry, but that’s only more challenging for those who are looking for their first roles, particularly if they don’t have a degree or are from marginalised backgrounds.

"[But] junior talent will be important to our recovery as an industry, as well as invigorating studios with new ideas and dynamism."

Cole concludes: "The challenges we face today in relation to skills gaps are avoidable, and are being perpetuated because there isn't enough investment in skills development at every level of the sector. Many studios would not be having the same challenges if they had invested in entry-level talent over the last five years. "