UK Video Games Industry Faces Skills Crisis, New Report Calls for Industry-Led Solution

A recent report by Skillfull highlights the pressing issue of a skills crisis in the UK video games industry, emphasizing the need for an industry-led organization to tackle this problem. The report, penned by Skillfull's founder Gina Jackson, explores the high number of job vacancies in 2022 and identifies key skills needs in the UK. Jackson presented the report's findings at the Games Impact Summit in London, acknowledging the disparity between the industry's growth in 2022 and the current wave of layoffs. The report, entitled 'The Skills Crisis in the UK Games Sector,' reveals a skills crisis at the mid to senior level, particularly in development. It suggests the creation of a cross-sector skills organization, led by an alliance of games employers, to address this issue. The new body would focus on leading efforts to implement the report's recommendations, including identifying and solving issues with the training and education ecosystem, securing local and national funding, and bringing games companies together to work on these issues. However, there is confusion over who should fund this new body, with suggestions including the UK government, the Creative Industries Council, and industry employers. Jackson emphasizes that without a comprehensive sector-wide framework, the industry risks perpetuating a cycle of skills crises and falling behind global counterparts. The report draws on data from 10,636 individual job listings across 234 employers, showing that 47% of roles were for experienced positions, 25% for senior, and 17% for manager, compared to just 7% for junior roles. Jackson notes that this data indicates a skills crisis at the mid to senior level and warns of a 'stunted pipeline of skilled workers' if the issue is not addressed. The report's recommendations include the publication of regular data to inform skills policies, action to tackle the deficit in technical and programming training, alignment of seniority descriptors for job titles, increased adoption of apprenticeships, and more research into best practices for remote and hybrid working. Jackson stresses that simply filling vacancies does not solve the skills crisis and that the industry needs to look at a different, sustainable model to support the talent pipeline and prevent the cycle of layoffs from continuing.