Skillset appoints 3 new reps to Computer Games Skills Council

Three industry members have been newly recruited to Skillset's Computer Games Skills Council to help with its work in improving skills development in the games sector.

Giselle Stewart, Neil Thompson and Jamie MacDonald have all joined the council, bringing their collective experience to the existing advisory team.

Stewart is currently general manager of Newcastle-based Ubisoft Reflections - a studio that has strong links with universities offering games courses across the UK - while Thompson is an industry veteran with over 20 years games experience. He currently works as studio art director for Bizarre Creations, having previously served in similar roles at Sony Liverpool, Evolution and bigBIG studios.

Finally, MacDonald is a former Sony exec who was founding director of SCE's London studio and VP of Sony Worldwide Studios, Europe. He currently consults and advises for companies across the digital media space as well as government agencies.

"Skillset is delighted to have such pro-active additions to our council. There is a new energy towards helping Higher Education to produce better talent and our council has already made inroads here," said the council's computer games sector manager Saint John Walker.

"Our council is also keen to start grappling with other skills issues such as management and leadership training, and our three new members will be providing invaluable experience regarding this vital issue."

The three new members join an existing team comprised of industry authorities that include Mark Gerhard, CEO of Jagex, and representatives from Eidos, Frontier, Activision, Blitz, Microsoft, TIGA and ELSPA.