TIGA, the trade association representing the UK games industry, said today that the Government needed to do more to increase the supply of people with STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) skills.
TIGA made the comment following a prediction by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) that by 2014 the UK will need an extra 730,000 people with STEM qualifications compared to 2007 (CBI), both to replace an aging workforce and fill up the new roles arising in areas such as the green economy.
Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO, said:
“If the UK is going to compete on the basis of innovative businesses, a highly skilled workforce and the knowledge economy, then the Government must continue to take steps to improve education and to address existing and prospective skill shortages. TIGA research showed that in 2010, two fifths of games businesses suffered from skill shortages whilst recruiting over the previous year. Ameliorating the shortage of people with STEM skills is important to the games industry and to the wider economy.
“To incentivise the study of STEM subjects, the Government could consider a pilot scheme, whereby it intervenes to ensure that tuition fees for students studying disciplines such as mathematics and computer science are competitively priced in comparison to other degrees.
“More generally, over time we should aim to increase proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) devoted to tertiary education in the UK. The UK spends just 1.2 per cent of GDP on tertiary education, compared to Canada’s 2.5 per cent, South Korea’s 2.6 per cent and the USA’s 2.7 per cent. We can have neither a highly skilled workforce nor a world beating higher education system on the cheap.”
Philip Oliver, TIGA board member and CEO of Blitz Studios, said:
“In addition to these education reforms, the Government should consider the introduction of an SME Training Tax Relief (TTR). This measure would operate in a similar way to the existing R&D tax credits. SMEs would be able to offset expenditure on training, Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for staff and education outreach activities against corporation tax. This measure would help small businesses to invest in skills, to the benefit of employees, businesses and the wider UK economy.”
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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. In 2011, TIGA won a further four awards at the Trade Association Forum Best Practice Awards, including ‘Trade Association of the Year’ for the second consecutive year.
TIGA has been voted a finalist in the CMI Management and Leadership Awards 2011 in the ‘Outstanding Organisation (SME)’ category. Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO, has been voted a finalist in the ‘Outstanding Leader’ category. TIGA was also 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 is the trade association representing the UK’s games industry. Our vision is to make the UK the best place in the world to do games business. Our mission is to fight for the interests of game developers. To achieve our vision and mission we focus on the delivery of three strategic objectives: effective political representation, profile raising and helping our members commercially. 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.