TIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry, saidtoday that there are great opportunities for employment in IT and that it was
now important to increase the supply of highly skilled graduates in disciplines
including Mathematics and Computer Science. TIGA commented following reports
today that not enough people are graduating with the skills needed to fill
thousands of IT jobs in Scotland.
TIGA says Mathematics and Computer Science are vital for equipping
students to study IT-related degrees and that there was a need to boost the
supply of students educated in these disciplines. Still more pupils need to
develop mathematical and programming skills in schools in order to increase the
potential pool of students capable of studying these disciplines in higher
education. Additionally, in England there could be a case for incentivising
students to study these subjects by reducing the relevant tuition fees.
According to E-skills UK, the IT sector has been creating 7,000 jobs a
year but last year only 1,500 students graduated in computing.
Employers' body ScotlandIS said the technology sector is growing four
times faster than the Scottish average but there was a lack of skilled staff to
fill the vacancies.
Dr Richard Wilson, CEO of
TIGA, said:
“Today’s report confirms that there are
considerable employment opportunities in IT related industries and that there
is a demand for graduates with Mathematics and Computer Science degrees. This
is also true in the video games industry. We need to increase the pool of
students capable of studying these disciplines and in England there may be a
case for incentivising the study of these subjects by reducing tuition fees.” Notes to editors:
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’
accredited 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: 07875 939 643, or email richard.wilson@tiga.org.