TIGA, the trade association representing the UKgames industry, said today that policy makers should continue to focus on
raising standards in mathematics and the sciences at GCSE and A level and
promoting the uptake of these subjects by students in order to increase the
potential supply of graduates available to work in high technology industries.
TIGA made the comments in response to a call by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the
creator of the worldwide web, for improvements in the teaching of computer
science.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, talking at the World Economic
Forum, said it would give children the ability to do “whatever they can
imagine” with a computer. Telling delegates that he believed most people
did not fully understand computers and treated them like an appliance, he said
he would like to see more making better use of the functions of the machines.
TIGA said that Mathematics and Computer Science are
vital for equipping students to study a number of science and technology 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.
The UK videogames industry needs a highly educated
and trainable workforce in order to compete successfully. The industry relies
on highly creative, technical people with skills and qualifications in areas
such as design, programming, artificial intelligence, animation, mathematics
and physics.
TIGA research in 2011 revealed that 35 per cent of
developers had experienced difficulties in filling vacancies while recruiting
over the previous 12 months. Developers reported have difficulty filling
vacancies for designers, artists and managers and above all high quality
programmers. The Government’s decision to withdraw the ICT national curriculum
from September 2012 and to give schools greater opportunities to teach computer
science is therefore sensible.
Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO, said:
“Policy makers
should continue to focus on raising standards in mathematicss and the sciences
at GCSE and A level and promoting the uptake of these subjects by students in
order to increase the potential supply of graduates available to work in the
industry. There are encouraging signs: 2012 saw an increase in the numbers of
STEM students at A Level and GCSE, with mathematics and physics now in the top
ten A level subjects.”
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 14 business awards and has been nominated a
finalist for 16 other awards. 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.