TIGA, the trade
association representing the UK games industry, is delighted to have Preston
College as its latest member.
The college has an
average of 18,000 students per academic year ranging
from entry through to degree level.
But of
particular note, the college has seen increased success rates in the ICT sector
which comprises of basic, intermediate and advanced IT office skills, software
development, games design, system support and networking.
The
college delivers many vendor qualifications such as Apple and Adobe courses and
is also a Cisco and Microsoft Academy.
We also, offer onsite testing for a wide variety of qualifications.
Preston College is a Further Education College that is reshaping to meet the
challenges of an Enterprise culture that is looking at new models of educating
to meet business needs.
The Creative & Digital
Industries Department was formerly a Visual & Performing Arts Academy;
including Music, Dance, Theatrical Performance, Media and Art & Design and
the college is well-placed to emerge as a destination for creative individuals
to exploit technologies in the emerging creative digital gaming industry.
Indeed, Preston College has
heavily invested in a suite of high-end games development computers that
supersede the requirements of the development packages of today.
Tony Gillies, assistant
head of department at Preston
College, said:
“Preston College in the
North West is set to emerge as a leading player in the Creative & Digital
Industries as a provider of young and innovative individuals to meet the
increasing demand of the Gaming Industry.
“The increasing number and ease of access to platforms for
developers means that entry to the market place for start-ups needs to
encourage and supported at grass roots.
“Preston College is joining TIGA to further promote young people
into the games development industry. Preston College can provide advice on
educational programmes and apprenticeships to local and national businesses
with the creative and skilled individuals to meet growing demand.
“Our partnership with UK game developers and publishers can
provide indie start-ups and game developers generally with an innovative
resource of young developers to expand the industry. This partnership
underscores the importance of the UK gaming industry for Preston College as
well as for the global gaming industry as a spawning core market.”
Dr
Richard Wilson, CEO of TIGA, said:
“Preston College has been highly commended by Ofsted for the
support and guidance given to its students and its vast portfolio of courses –
including the many related to video gaming – will ensure it plays a major part
in the future of the videogame industry. Education is vital for the creative
industries and it will ensure the UK's place for years to come.”
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. Since 2010,
TIGA has won 12 business awards and has been
nominated a finalist for 9 other awards. In 2010 TIGA won two business awards including
‘Trade Association of the Year’ from the Trade Association Forum. In 2011, TIGA
won eight business awards including ‘Trade Association of the Year’ from the
Trade Association Forum, ‘Outstanding Organisation’ from the Chartered
Management Institute and two Global Business Excellence Awards, including
‘Outstanding Marketing Campaign’.
Richard Wilson won the ‘Leadership Award’ from the Trade Association
Forum and the ‘Outstanding Leader’ award from the Chartered Management
Institute. In 2012, Richard Wilson won the IoD’s East of
England Director of the Year Award. TIGA
is an Investors in People organisation. Also in 2012, TIGA won a Global
Business Excellence Award for its ‘Outstanding Public Relations Campaign’ for
Games Tax Relief.
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.