UK computer game manufacturers are strugglingtofind skilled programmersfollowing
afall in the number of studentstakingcomputer science courses.
The problem is
reaching crisis proportions says Ian Livingstone, Creative
Director at
Eidos and father of the
video game
character Lara Croft from
Tomb
Raider.
"
There's definitely a recruitment crisis. There has been a 20%
fall in the number of computer science graduates and the UK has
slipped from third to fourth in world devlopment."
The computer game industry grew up in the UK in the 1980s
following the home computing boom, and now contributes £200
million to the economy.
"
We've been a world leader for 25 years and we got off to a
flying start because Clive
Sinclair
put affordable computing in the hands of a creative nation.
It's no surprise that games like Grand Theft Auto and Tomb Raider
were created in the UK," says Ian Livingstone.
He points to a report from Games Investor Counsultancy which
shows that the 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.
The success of Eidos and other UK software publishers was due to
the local pool of talented programmers and computer scientists, Ian
Livingstone says. Now Games developers are under pressure to move
overseas.
The quality of graduates software publishers are getting out of
universities isn't helping either, says Livingstone.
While 81
universities
in the UK currently
offer video gaming-related degrees, software publishers claim
the majority of these courses produce generalists, who lack strong
specific programming skills required to code games.
"Because of the need for getting bums on seats, many
universities have converted their old media studies courses into
computer games courses," says Livingstone.
"It's easier for me to go to drag
a computer scientist from Imperial College who knows nothing
about games and give him a job tomorrow rather than someone who's
done a general computer game design course who's useless to
me."
Programming skills such as
C/C++,
Java,
Java EE,
Ruby,
Python and graduates with degrees in computer science are
remain high in demand but low in supply.
Eidos is turning its attention overseas where skilled IT staff
are easier to find. Generous tax incentives outside the UK are
another lure.
"You've got Canada which offers a 37.5% salary rebate for people
programming video games. Add to that a 40% R&D tax credit and
it becomes a very attractive proposition to a company like Eidos,"
said Livingstone.
The company has opened a
new studio in Montreal, where they will make their next big
game.
"We could have made that game in the UK but no we're doing that
in Canada because of the tax break and because of the investment in
skills working with universities and partnering with industry.
They've spent half-a-billion dollars on attracting companies to
invest in Canada."
Livingstone would like to see the government encourage
partnerships between universities and the IT industry to ensure
syllabuses reflect the needs
of employers and so that companies get graduates with the right
skills, with an emphasis on promoting computer science and
programming.
This might be difficult. While video games may be perceived as
cool by graduates, a career in IT is not. Many
graduates view the IT profession as less than glamorous.
Ian Livingstone is currently working withTiga's Games Up? campaign, which seeks to promote
the role of the video game industry in the UK economy and to
address skills shortage concerns.