Training and Qualifications - Skillset's Strategy
What are the challenges?
A large volume of further and higher education courses relating to the Interactive Media and Computer Games sectors have been identified through Skillset's research.
It has also become clear that some sections of the industry feel that many formal education courses do not teach to a sufficiently high level and it is felt that many graduates' skills are simply not good enough.
Indeed the client-side skills gaps reported previously are considered by some parts of industry to be indicative of the poor management expertise coming out of higher and further education.
Vocational qualifications in general, for people entering or already in the industry, are not highly rated - companies are reported to be confused about the different types and therefore are not able to see them as credible marks of achievement .
It is important to say that some degree courses do offer industry-relevant vocational skills and experience. For example there are currently four accredited courses available in the UK for students looking for a career in games.
It is also often perceived by many parts of the industry that the best 'raw material' is provided by holders of masters' degrees or doctorates and it is important to recognise here that there are some cases where postgraduate courses, which tend to be shorter and more specialised, are being successfully developed to address specific and relevant skills gaps .
What can be done?
Further Education
- Ensure that all awarding bodies are provided with accurate and up-to-date information about what qualifications are needed by the industry.
- Appropriate approaches to industry recognition of Foundation Degrees, by developing clear industry guidelines in partnership with Foundation Degree Forward (FDF) for content and support in priority subjects.
- Guidance for FE course creators and lecturers to ensure that enduring skills are taught and developed, rather than transient, software or platform specific ones in isolation, that will equip students with the skills necessary to learn or update transient skills for themselves throughout their careers.
- The encouragement of work experience, placements and sandwich courses to enable students to balance their academic learning with experience of its real-world application in the workplace.
- All courses should include coverage of business and management as well as combinations of creative and technical subjects.
Higher Education
- Industry and the Skills Forums will work more collaboratively with HE institutions in course development, teaching, research activity, building links and partnerships with industry, and ensuring relevant industry placements for tutors and students, to ensure that:
- Teaching remains relevant to a rapidly changing industry need and that what is taught represents correct practice, minimising the reported need for new entrants to ‘unlearn' bad habits.
- Degree level courses have an emphasis on enduring skills and ‘learning how to learn', rather than on transient, software or platform specific ones in isolation. Any teaching of specific software packages must be in an applied context.
- Institutions provide or expect relevant and up-to-date professional development as a requirement for all course leaders and tutors
- Universities and colleges always have an industry advisory panel with current expertise for their interactive media or computer games courses.
- Flexible and modular provision is available at degree level that includes coverage of business and company management skills, as well as combinations of creative and technical subjects, and incorporates elements of workplace experience.
- Skillset will support the development of Access to the Games Industry qualifications through Abertay University in collaboration with the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA);
- Skillset and the Computer Games Skills Forum have piloted a UK-wide accreditation scheme for degree level courses relevant to the Computer Games Industry. Courses will be accredited in line with the industry defined criteria, and the final decision will be made by a Panel of experienced industry figures.
- Depending on demand there will be similar initiatives developed by other key Interactive Media sectors from April 2007 and for postgraduate courses, where appropriate and when funding becomes available.
For more information on Skillset's Strategy and to read Creating the Future: The UK Skills Action Plan for the Interactive Media and Computer Games Industries, visit the 'About Our Work' section of this website.
