TIGA, the tradeassociation representing the UK games industry, said today that a report for
the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, revealed three important conclusions:
that Canada was successfully attracting investment and jobs away from the UK;
that the Canadian games industry was enjoying significant growth fuelled in
part by tax credits; and that access to skilled talent was a top industry
concern.
The Report, Canada’s Entertainment Software Industry in
2011 notes that:
- “…Canada itself has been notably successful in attracting
investment and skilled personnel from jurisdictions like the United
Kingdom…”” (p. 24); - the Canadian games industry is expected to grow by 17 per cent over
the next two years, assisted in part from tax credits on labour ranging
from 17.5 per cent to 37.5 per cent of expenses in Ontario, Quebec and
British Columbia; and - 42 per cent of respondents to the Report’s survey are concerned about
the lack of talented personnel available to work in the Canadian video
games sector.
Dr Richard Wilson,
TIGA CEO, said:
“This Report confirms that Canada is
successfully draining investment and highly skilled developers away from the
UK. Canada’s tax credits play a key part in this process. The loser is not
simply the UK video games industry, but the entire UK economy.
“Interestingly, the Canadian games industry is
concerned about an insufficient supply of skilled personnel, with more than
two-fifths of respondents worried about a talent gap. This is not unusual. A
recent report on the Australian video games sector revealed that 83 per cent of
respondents believe that the sector suffers from skill shortages. Video game
development requires highly skilled personnel, for whom there is naturally
competition for employment.
“The UK game development sector employs a
highly skilled and creative workforce. While
we must continue to enhance the provision of games education and training, the
critical factors that the UK needs to get right are the tax environment and
access to finance. The introduction of Games Tax Relief and a Creative Content
Fund, together with improvements to R&D Tax Credits, will power the UK
games industry ahead.””
Ends
Notes for editors
Canada’s Entertainment Software Industry in 2011 can be accessed at: http://www.theesa.ca/documents/report_video%20game_industry2011.pdf
Working in Australia’s Digital Games Industry:
A Consolidation Report can be accessed at: http://www.cci.edu.au/content/games-industry-skills-project.
About
TIGA:
TIGA is the trade association representing the UK’s games industry.The
majority of our members are either independent games developers or in-house
publisher owned developers.We also have games publishers, outsourcing
companies, technology businesses and universities amongst our membership. TIGA
was awarded ‘Trade Association of the Year’ and the ‘Member Recruitment Award’
at the Trade Association Forum Best Practice Awards 2010. TIGA has also been named
as a finalist in the 2010 Chartered Management Institute (CMI) National
Management and Leadership Awards in the category of ‘The Outstanding
Organisation of the Year Award (SME)’. TIGA is an Investors in People
organisation.
TIGA’s
vision is to make the UK the best place in the world to do games
business. We focus on three sets of activities: political representation,
generating media coverage and developing services that enhance the
competitiveness of our members. This means that TIGA members are effectively
represented in the corridors of power, their voice is heard in the media and
they receive benefits that make a material difference to their businesses,
including a reduction in costs and improved commercial opportunities.
For
further information, please contact Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO on 07875939643:
or email richard.wilson@tiga.org; or contact David Hodges on 02070911653