UK computer game manfuacturers are struggling to find skilled
programmers following a fall in the number of students taking
computer science, maths and physics university courses, according
to the games industry.
A
lack of programmers for UK software publishers could mean the
loss of £700m of foreign investment into the UK and 1,700 jobs over
the next five years, said research firm Games Investor
Consultancy.
Richard Wilson, CEO of Tiga, the trade association of UK games
software publishers, said that the supply of programmers in the UK
was not meeting demand.
"There has been a 15% drop in the number of students taking
computer science, maths and physics degrees over the past 10
years," said Wilson. "This has reduced the amount of skilled
programmers coming out of universites."
Wilson said that software publishers are struggling to find
high-level mathematicians, physicists and computer scientists that
have the analytical and problem-solving skills they need to code
games, which themselves are becoming more complex to write.
Rick Gibson, director at Games Investor Consultancy, said that a
shortage of programmers would mean that UK software developers
would not be able to grow their business at the same rate as
international rivals.
A shortage would also mean increased labour costs.
Outsourcing was not an option because it would be expensive and
success in video game programming required knowledge of the local
culture, said Gibson.
Between 2006 and 2008 UK video games earned £4bn globally and
contributed £200m to the UK balance of trade, according to figures
from Game Up?, a campaign led by Tiga to improve skills of UK video
game programmers.
The CBI warned last year that urgent action was needed to
reverse a
decades-long decline
in the study of science, technology, engineering and maths to
meet the needs of a changing UK economy.
"Some employers are already finding it difficult to get the
right talent, and the problem is set to get worse," said Richard
Lambert, CBI Director-General. "The UK cannot compete with the
developing world on low-skilled jobs, so to thrive in the global
market we must excel in the higher-skilled roles that demand
expertise and innovation."