UK games industry
Skillset's Saint John Walker to join Guardian Careers Q&A session on women in games development.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, 19 April 2010
Skillset’s computer games manager, Saint John Walker, will join a panel of industry experts for a Q&A session about the representation of women in the computer games industry on Guardian Careers tomorrow (Tuesday, 20 April).
Saint will sit on a panel that will include Rosie Curico, manager of Qantm College, London, Kim Blake education liaison manager for the game development company Blitz Games Studios and Richard Wilson, CEO of computer games trade body TIGA.
The Q&A session will be open to all people who register on the Guardian Careers forum. The panellists will examine why, although 38 per cent of all gamers are female, only around 11 per cent of developers are women. They will discuss what can be done, and whether there are sufficient frameworks in place to encourage more female talent into the industry.
Skillset’s chief executive, Dinah Caine, said: “The importance of the computer games industry to the UK creative sector cannot be underestimated. As the Sector Skills Council for the Creative Industries, Skillset is dedicated to making sure that the diversity of the sector increases to more accurately reflect the society they operate in. That’s why forums like this are essential for issues to be examined in detail by people who possess great insight into the games industry.”
Skillset’s computer games manager Saint John Walker said: “After securing significant tax breaks in the latest budget, our computer games industry is about to enter an extremely exciting phase of growth. That makes now the perfect time to be examining not just how our industry is going to expand to support that growth, but also to think more deeply about the composition of that expansion.”
The Q&A session will take place between 1-4pm at http://tinyurl.com/y7xkx8b.
-Ends-
For more information contact
Skillset press and PR officer Nick Sheridan on 020 713 9854 or nicks@skillset.org
Or
Skillset press and PR manager Jennifer Walters on 0207 713 9854 or jenniferw@skillset.org
Out-of-hours: 07827 989 330.
Notes to Editors:
• Skillset is the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the Creative Industries, which comprise 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 challenge by sector. They are independent, UK-wide organisations, are employer-led, and actively involve trade unions, professional bodies and other stakeholders in the industry.