Young people from Wigan given opportunity to experience acclaimed video games studios

The free online event, which is taking place on Tuesday November 7 at 4.30pm, is keen to address the diversity and gender imbalance in the industry and encourage more people to consider a career in gaming. The latest figures show 70 per cent of people working in the gaming industry are male.

It will giveyoung people, aged 16 to 18, the opportunity to meet and speak with acclaimed games companies and top universities.

Featured speakers include Craig Charsley, senior talent acquisition specialist at Ubisoft (Assassin's Creed, Far Cry) and Sol Argüeso, lead recruiter from SEGA Hardlight (Sonic Dash and Sonic Forces). Mae Yup, co-founder of ERIC and Alex Perkins, art director at Avalanche Studios will also be discussing their careers and tips to get into the industry.

Escape Studios, Abertay University,Salford UniversityandGlasgow School of Artwill also discuss the video games courses they offer and will be available for the event duration to answer any questions they may have around apprenticeships, traineeships, personal development opportunities and skills needed.

The history of game development in the North West goes back almost as far as the history of home videogames themselves. Bug-Byte, the company responsible for classic British Spectrum game Manic Miner, was founded in Liverpool as early as 1980. Not far behind was Ocean Software, then known as Spectrum Games, who began operating out of Manchester in 1983.

Now there are a whole host of games studios in the region offering plenty of job opportunities including Codemasters Cheshire, Traveller’s Tales and d3T.

Colin Macdonald, director of Games Jobs Live, said: “The global games market is worth $159bn, with 2.7 billion people playing video games globally. So, there’s a real opportunity for diverse, young people to enter the thriving UK gaming industry but more needs to be done to communicate the wide-ranging opportunities available to them.

“The event's main objective is to provide this information to the younger generation that are considering a possible future in the games industry but find it hard to get information that's directly relevant to them.

"By bringing together some of the leading education providers, as well as prominent games studios, they can get advice and answers to their questions in one place and be better informed about their next career steps.

“There will be a range of support on hand from colleges, training providers and employers with available opportunities.”

Rona Whittet, student recruitment officer at Abertay University, said: “Abertay University is excited to be involved once again in the Getting into the Games Industry live event. We want to make more young people aware of the opportunities available to them.”

To sign up for free tickets, please visit – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-to-get-into-the-games-industry-2023-advice-from-industry-experts-tickets-741374329577