Skillset and NESTA
Ian Livingstone welcomed as the government’s skills champion for the video games sector.
Mr Livingstone, who is life president of Eidos, will work with the government to help drive forward work to produce a better skilled workforce for the games industry.
Mr Livingstone will also join work with Charles Cecil, managing director of Revolution Software and also a member of Skillset’s Computer Games Skills Council, and Alex Hope, from leading visual effects company Double Negative, to lead a wide-ranging review of education and training in the UK games and visual effects (VFX) industries.
The review will be carried out by National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) and Skillset. It was announced by Minister for Communications, Ed Vaizey at the Develop video games conference in Brighton on Wednesday (14 July).
Skillset’s chief executive, Dinah Caine, said: “This announcement is a fantastic recognition of all of the brilliant work Ian has done as a leader of the UK’s games sector. We could not imagine a better qualified person for this role.
“Skillset is also very pleased to be given the opportunity to contribute to this review, which comes at an extremely important time for our sector. We look forward to working with NESTA and with our sister Sector Skills Council e-skills-UK as we continue our partnership work championing the importance of skills development in this key sector of the economy.”
Jonathan Kestenbaum, Chief Executive of NESTA said: “A healthy and vibrant games industry is vitally important to the UK economy. The global video games sector is fiercely competitive so our universities must produce graduates with the skills to dominate new markets”.
Skillset has also welcomed Mr Vaizey’s support of Skillset’s accreditation programme for computer games courses. In his speech, Mr Vaizey said Skillset’s course accreditation was “incredibly important” to the industry and that he wants to see the number of accredited courses rise in the future.
Skillset’s computer games manager, Saint John Walker, said: “The Minister’s recognition of our accreditation programme is a great affirmation of the importance and effectiveness of this work. We are dedicated to expanding the number of accredited courses by advising and engaging with promising courses to make sure that our industry is adequately supplied with the number of skilled graduates that it needs to remain globally competitive.”
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For more information contact
Skillset press and PR officer Nick Sheridan on 0207 713 9854 or nicks@skillset.org
Or
Skillset press and PR manager Jennifer Walters on 0207 713 9812 or jenniferw@skillset.org
Out-of-hours: 07827 989 330.
Notes to Editors:
Skillset is the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for Creative Media, with responsibility for 60 per cent of the UK Creative Industries. This comprises TV, film, radio, interactive media, animation, computer games, facilities, photo imaging, publishing, advertising and fashion and textiles. SSCs are licensed by the UK Government and by Ministers in the devolved administrations to tackle the skills and productivity challenges by sector. They are independent, UK-wide organisations, are employer-led, and actively involve trade unions, professional bodies and other stakeholders in the industry. NESTA is the UK’s foremost independent expert on how innovation can solve some of the country’s major economic and social challenges. Its work is enabled by an endowment, funded by the National Lottery and it operates at no cost to the government or taxpayer. NESTA is a world leader in its field and carries out its work through a blend of experimental programmes, analytical research and investment in early-stage companies. www.nesta.org.uk The nine Skillset Accredited computer games courses are: BA Game Art Design, De Montfort University Leicester, MSc Games Software Development, Sheffield Hallam University, BSc (Hons) Computer Games Programming, Teesside University,BA (Hons) Computer Arts, University of Abertay Dundee, BSc (Hons) Computer Games Technology, University of Abertay Dundee, MSc (Hons) Computer Games Technology, University of Abertay Dundee, BA (Hons) Computer Animation, University of Glamorgan - Cardiff School of Creative and Cultural Studies,
MSc Games Programming, University of Hull, BSc (Hons) Computer Games Technology, University of the West of Scotland