I dont understand this. We (UK) have the best talent in the world according to all the talk on the develop website. With this in mind we seem to have studios closing at the rate of 1 per week. So my question is why do we need to import workers into an industry that we have redundant staff for? I have read on here today that graduates will not be able to get work as there are too many skilled workers out there taking the jobs, so again why bring in outside workers? This is a genuine question by the way. As

Totally agree with you Paul. Hundreds (possibly thousands) of top quality UK development staff are out of work, yet they can't get people in from outside the UK?!?

Maybe they should be supporting the UK workforce, instead of moaning. They want UK tax breaks, but they don't want UK staff... unbelievable.

I suppose it couldn't have anything to do with cheap labour could it? UK person wants X.00, import person will do it for half of that.

They already ship a good deal of work out to "other" countries, because they run cut-price sweat shops. I know one of the places I worked at used a porting house in India. I think it's a disgrace personally, but typical of the Great British businessman. This is why I don't believe they deserve tax breaks, because all they're doing is funding other country's workforces with it.

God, you have SO hit the nail on the head.

Easily the best comment on Develop, this.

"I suppose it couldn't have anything to do with cheap labour could it?"

Cheaper than a graduate with no experience desperate for a job? Not bloody likely.

This is a skilled industry. We're not getting people to pick bloody cabbages or mop the floor. The problem is that there aren't enough skilled, experienced workers in this country.

We can't have companies full of graduates. Most of them actually have their fair share. There is just sadly too many graduates not up to par for even a junior role.

We've had so many layoffs that there may be enough work in this country for those experienced workers. But why the hell should they remain in this country with it's bad wages, lack of stability and crap weather when they can go to Canada.

I work alongside many foreigners who do a wonderful job and I consider them peers in every way. They've earned the right to work here.

I believe that the immigration cap is a significant element to boost UK economy and the British workers should be allowed into the work. There are more talented workeers in the country but they want to hire people from the world so they can pay them less around 1.00. Would the British people be employed elsewhere in the world? Of course not. So why should the people from the world come to UK to work? There are about 2.5 million uneployed in UK. Get them work first.

Whats up, Jagex & The Creative Assembly?

Going to have to start putting effort and investment into funding National Minimum Wage and compliance over the workplace?

I do find it quite insulting that they're complaining about this, I have to find work overseas because UK companies are a nightmare to even get a job interview with, let alone an actual job.

Hi all, don't have a lot of time but just wanted to clarify this issue before it gets a little out of hand.

Please know that this issue is a lot more complicated than this article can justify.

Categorically however, Studios are not intentionally looking to target foreign workers over UK nationals - far from it and here for example the vast majority of our workforce are UK nationals.

There are however some positions whereby the net simply has to be widened and non-EU nationals may need to be considered.

A rather general example may be a Lead Designer role working on MMOs - simply because there are more Studios with experienced staff globally than there are here in the UK alone.

Similarly candidates with significant social networking integration experience, or a deep understand of microtransactions as a payment method etc are a little rarer here in the UK than they are the World over.

I wish I had more time to explain the issue in full, but please rest assured that we as Studio recruiters are not looking to negate our home grown talent pool, and infact it is quite the opposite - wherever possible we try always to ensure that such talent remains in the UK - to that in 2010 alone we have recruited and resettled a very large number of individuals directly from UK studio closures! All now working here, in Sunny England, and not abroad.

Anyway I hope this clarifies the Studio position somewhat. I understand what a frustrating time this is for people, and I empathise entirely.

Guys, as much as I empathise with your feelings, you're not really seeing the bigger picture amongst all the knee-jerking. We're not talking about shipping shedloads of cheap Indian workers in to do the same work on less money; we're talking about highly skilled Australian, American and Canadian professionals that would love to come and ply their trade here but are unable to because of visa restrictions.

As hard as it is to believe these days, the UK is still incredibly well regarded on the global development scene, and there are lots of great professionals who want to come and work here. If they have the skills, ability and passion to make the UK industry better, we should be able to welcome them with open arms. Do you think Canada would have made the great strides it has in the last few years without foreign talent?

Ultimately, a games studio has a responsibilty to hire the very best talent available in order to produce the very best products. If an American engine programmer is better than all his/her UK counterparts then surely it would make sense to hire him/her, rather than 'make do' with what is available on the market just because they're British? By hiring the best talent, the games those studios can create are likely to be far better, therefore selling more copies, making the company more successful and ultimately allow them to expand on their next project and hire more British professionals.

The Canadian games industry has been strengthened enormously by their ability to cherry pick the best talent from the UK and have them working in the region with very little restrictions in terms of work permits etc. As it stands now, we can't say the same and it's all one way traffic. Without the ability to employ games professionals from all over the world we aren't able to compete on an even keel. Besides, an industry that's made up of purely British individuals won't have the same ability to produce games that appeal globally without the input that foreign nationals can provide from a cultural perspective.

It isn't about saving money, quite the opposite in fact. It's about acquiring the very best talent available to strengthen your organisation and make it more successful in the long term. Nine times out of ten, the roles that "were" filled by foreign nationals, were very senior or lead positions, that were probably filled originally by workers who made the jump to Canada or elsewhere.

Let's not turn Develop into the Daily Mail, the comments from Jagex and The Creative Assembly have been miscronstrued. They are simply bemoaning the fact that yet again the UK government have given the games industry short shrift.

Thank for clarifying Jagex's position Peter. To be honest, I know from experience that Jagex are among the very best for nurturing UK talent. Keep up the good work!

I'm a recruiter acting for a number of studios.

Firstly for all those that comment that employers use overseas talent so that they can pay them less are totally deluded and must be living in an episode of Ashes to Ashes to still think that.

If any of you was actually a UK Border Agency Sponsor then you would know the stringent process that exists in bringing employees from Non EU countries and that includes having to meet minimum salary levels which are equivalent to UK wages.

I have one client, in particular, who has had great success within the EU - despite being affected by the same immigration cap. However it just meant that they continued their focus on UK and EU talent and to date in the past 7 months they have still managed to achieve over 100 new permanent hires and not one of them required a certificate of sponsorship, as all were entitled to work in the UK. It certainly hasnt prevented them from hiring.

Companies need to be more flexible in the skillsets they are looking for and focus on hires a lot closer to home.

Alex, could you suck up any more to Peter there? Next time, try not to be so blatant. It's nauseating.

Haha, funny guy. Jagex are a British success story, and Peter is a key part of that success. The fact that he's taken the time to clarify his organisation's position in light of the bile spouted on Develop should be lauded - which I have done.

Perhaps if you'd taken the time to read my original comment, you'd know I have a fairly strong opinion on this matter, and I'll rightly side with those that substantiate and mirror my point of view.

I'm guessing from your petty contribution that you are one of those developers who is struggling to find work. Perhaps more time studying, improving your CV and networking, and less time laughably attempting to denigrate serious contributors to serious discussions would help land you that job?

Thanks for your contribution though!

"I'm guessing from your petty contribution that you are one of those developers who is struggling to find work. Perhaps more time studying, improving your CV and networking, and less time laughably attempting to denigrate serious contributors to serious discussions would help land you that job?"

Wow. That's an awesomely condescending comment from a recruitment agent to an out of work developer. You care about developers? Or are you one of these "throw mud at the wall and hope some of it sticks" recruiters who cares only about lining their own pockets?

And, like I said, you're not trying to suck up to a current or potential client? Because that's how it looked to me.

I don't want to turn this into something personal, but in terms of condescension, your original comment is pretty hard to top. If my response has offended you, I can only apologise, but unfortunately my statement still stands. Feeling sorry for yourself and attacking those people who could actually help you is a little counterproductive, don't you think?

You obviously know of me, so I find myself at somewhat of a disadvantage. If you did your homework, you'd know that I have been in the games industry since I was a kid, and have been made redundant several times, so I know how bloody hard it is.

As for my methods, any of my clients or candidates will I'm sure give you very favourable reports. I'm actually one of the few recruiters in the industry to have actually worked in it, so it's not about lining my own pockets at all.

I don't have to defend myself, but perhaps if you are looking for work, you should give me a call and make your decisions on me personally, rather than trying to belittle my contribution to the industry I've loved for the last 30 years based on a thread comment.

As for sucking up; perception is a funny thing isn't it? Drop me a line, and I'm sure that perception will change.

No, you're alright. I think you've shown enough on here. I'll stick with who I currently use.

I love how you use your "I used to be like you, I feel your pain" comment though. Classy.

it's a shame these comments went off the rails there.

I just find the irony amusing of people thinking Jagex only employ cheap foreign labour. If I've heard anything about them it's that they are quite graduate heavy and pay very well because they have trouble getting good experienced people in.

I am not a recruiter. I am a game developer. I worked hard to get into the industry. I had the bad times and the bad early jobs too. I never once thought immigration of all things was stopping me.

All that was stopping me was the quality of my work and lack of experience. The only thing you can do is accept that getting a job is always difficult so put the graft in and get better.

To be honest, this is getting a shade off topic. But I'll play along...

I've shown enough on here? How so? The fact that I have an understanding of the industries recruitment market? Or perhaps that I love the games industry with a passion? Ahah! Maybe it's the fact that I'm the bigger man, and have extended my services to help you? Well, I don't know about you, but all of those add up to one awful human being. You're probably right to steer well clear of me!

Anyway, no skin off my nose chap. I wish you all the best, although seeing as you're still looking; perhaps have a rethink of your current agent might be advisable?

I'm not using it, it's a statement of fact. You're just coming off as a little bitter and making yourself look a little silly to be honest. I've extended the olive branch, even though I'm well within my rights to tell you to jog on for a pretty much unprovoked attack. Good luck finding that new role, and I do mean that.

I don't want to tamper with a great discussion on the realities of recruitment. the comments section is something which all of us at Develop read, debate on, and frame for future reportage.

However, Mr "Doesn't matter" is getting a shade too personal and I'd rather he discuss the issue at hand, which clearly a lot of you have strong and educated opinions on.

Getting back to the original point, there is plenty of talent within the EU, if not within the UK. 500 million of the world's best educated people and they're struggling to find people? Give me a break. Maybe if studios paid properly and ran their projects so as to avoid constant crunch then we wouldn't be having this conversation. The video games industry is still very immature, and could really do with growing up when it comes to the way it treats people. And as Recruiter Joe has said, there ARE studios out there not struggling to find staff - so maybe Jagex and Creative Assembly could take a leaf out of their book instead of complaining.

I hope if studios get tax breaks it'll be linked to having a certain amount of bums on seats, so as to prevent unscrupulous studio owners simply pocketing the extra money.

If the games industry is so immature then why are you complaining that you're not able to get work to crunched for little money?

...and it's not like 500 million people are good enough to get into the games industry is it?

...and the way tax breaks work means it promotes investment rather than pocketing profit.

...and when did the nice recruitment man say other companies weren't strugling to find people? I'm certain that most studios are on always in need of talented people. While there is no people shortage...there is a skill shortage.

I don't wish to offend, but you're not doing your opinion any favours by bringing up issues from a point of obvious ignorance.

Well, you're assuming I'm unemployed, as AlexWM assumed. Bully for you.

I think you'll find a lot of people within the industry think that it needs to grow up. Fat Babies wasn't called Fat Babies for nothing.

500 million people. I didn't say 500 million developers, did I? But 500 million people. That's not far off twice the population of the US. And substantially more than the US and Canada combined. And you're telling me that's STILL not enough to find people within, even with all the studio closures? Look at Recruiter Joe above. One studio has hired 100 people from within the EU in just 7 months. Maybe Creative Assembly, Jagex and the others should get in touch with their recruitment team, and find out what they're doing right, instead of complaining to the media that they can't get the people, at a time when other developers are out of work and studios are closing left right and centre.

The way tax breaks works? Doesn't it depend on the rules of the scheme? That's my point - make sure it's linked to bums on seats. You have a problem with me saying that?

A point of obvious ignorance? Well, that's your opinion - I suspect I'm probably a lot more knowledgeable than you about the whole situation, but let's just agree to disagree, eh?

Of course there are hundreds of games professionals in the EU who would love to come to the UK to try their hand in the industry here. However, I've got two words for you, and they're big ones. Language. Barrier. Unfortunately the majority of EU citizens who are qualified to take up jobs here, just don't possess the English language skills required to attain employment here.

As for the studio who have been recruiting nothing but EU nationals, well that's great, but unfortunately it's nothing to crow about really. Ever since the incumbent government came into power all UK studios have been working under that arrangement. Tier1 visas are incredibly difficult to attain, and the Tier2 sponsorships that used to be awarded to studios were drastically cut. I know of one major developer in particular that had their allowance of sixteen per annum cut to just one!

The fact is, if we want to be able to create the very best games, then we need the very best people. As much as it pains me to say it, funnily enough, not all of them are British.

That's crap. You're telling me the majority of highly educated EU professionals don't speak excellent English? That's just not true. They speak English much more fluently than we speak their language. Guerrilla Games in Holland has English as its working language, as does DICE in Stockholm, and as do many others.

Don't use language as an excuse because, frankly, it's laughable.

As for that studio being "nothing to crow about really", I'm not sure I get your point. How can recruiting over 100 people, in 7 months, from purely within the EU be nothing to crow about if you say it's so hard?

Interestingly do any of know how the Tier 2 certificate of sponsorship allowance was worked out?

The Border Agency looked at a calendar period for an approved sponsor and if that sponsor issued 5 Tier 2 Certificates of Sponsorships during that period (i.e they hired 5 people from outside of the EU) then they got a new allocation when the cap came in of 5 Certificates. Even if their original allocation was 20.

@AlexWM So your example ‘I know of one major developer in particular that had their allowance of sixteen per annum cut to just one’ means that during the calendar period the Border agency used then that company only used one ‘allowance’ or certificate as it is called so only hired 1 person from outside the EU.

However myself and Pete Lovell have spoken about this and his points are very valid that certain skills such as Microtransactions etc are tough to find from EU countries.

All this is becoming a little irrelevant anyway as the Border Agency has just issued new guidelines for April 2011 and going forward, and options have been opened up again but they make it clear they will still be capping numbers but will take each case as it comes. No 'allocations' will be made. Instead a hirer makes an application when they find a candidate and the agency looks at the strength of the application and if they don’t meet stringent rules proving there is not a UK or EU person suitable for that role they don’t get Sponsorship... case closed.

Which I believe from reading these comments is exactly what people want ?

I know perfectly well that there are several studios in mainland Europe that use English as their main language. DICE & Guerrilla are great examples. But these are both located in countries that have a very high English speaking contingent, and for every European studio that does use English there are three that don't. You won't find any studios in France, Spain or Italy that work in an English speaking environment, so frankly your use of two extreme examples doesn't really stand up to scrutiny.

I'm certainly not using the language barrier as an excuse, merely as another issue to add weight to my already pretty hefty argument. As someone who does this week in week out, I feel I may be a little better qualified to make these statements.

I think it's great that this studio - and I've a pretty good idea of who it is - has been able to hire 100 people from the EU. My point is that ALL UK studios have had to work under these conditions for the last seven months, as there have been no way to get professionals from outside the EU due to the restrictions placed on them by the government. Ultimately there was no other option for them to hire from the EU, as the rest of the world was closed to them. As laudable as it is that they've managed to hire all these staff from the EU, what other choice did they have?

It seems to me that you have failed to understand the main thrust of this problem. UK studios are unable to compete on an even footing with other territories due to personnel restrictions. A games studio is only as good as it's talent, and if we are unable to recruit the best the world has to offer we're already at a disadvantage before the first bit of game design, previs or code is layed down. Surely you can understand that?

Spanish, Italian and French people can't speak fluent english? Give me a break. And yes, I know which studio it is too.

And you're missing MY point. They hired 100 people. They didn't complain. They didn't whinge. They buckled down and got on with it, paying very good salaries and impressing candidates with their vision of the future.

@Simon. I did hear that new guidelines were due to come in, and it's great news. The new system of 'case by case basis' should be much fairer. You guys are a major case in point in this respect.

As Peter stated, there are certain skills that just aren't that that prevelant in the EU, microtransactions being one in particular. The Far East, Russia and the States lead the way in this area due to the high incidence of FTP gaming.

I'm not in any way suggesting that we flood the UK with unskilled foreign workers, but in order to compete on the world stage we have to be able to draw talent from wherever it lies, whether that's the UK, Europe or anywhere else in the world. Hopefully new guidelines will enable us to do that.

I've edited you last post to remove the riling comment. Didn't want to delete your point though.

I'm very busy today, so please keep comments considerate. And use a name; hard to have a reasoned debate with someone so willingly anonymous.

Blimey, that's a bit little englander of you isn't it? "What do you mean you can't speak English?!" I think you're taking the language point a tad far, it's merely another barrier to hiring from the EU, not the core of my argument.

Well done to them; what I'm saying is that every studio in the UK has had to do it, so it's not a case in point of how it should be done, as it's not an isolated incident. I'll also lay money that given the opportunity, a proportion of those 100 would have been non EU if they'd had the option.

You're starting to sound like a recruiter now, don't want to give it a try do you?

It's not little englander at all - it's a fact that a LOT of highly educated Europeans speak English. They put our language abilities to shame. And I'm not taking it far - you're the one who gave me two words ("Language. Barrier"), saying they were "big ones". I've simply debunked it, that's all.

Recruitment? I'm okay thanks.

I don't think you could possibly have debunked my argument, given that you haven't provided a single scrap of evidence or even been able to manage an even handed debate.

Yes, a LOT of highly educated people in the EU speak English, but how many of those are games developers? As a developer yourself, is it not vital that everyone within the studio is able to communicate from top to bottom? I speak with scores of EU games development professionals everyday, and the majority of them do not feel that their English skills are sufficient to take up work in the UK. This is not a case of rounding them up the English speaking games developers and herding them into the UK like cattle. They, and their target studios have to be confident in their ability to communicate - particularly for technical or design roles.

To be honest, I think this is becoming little more than a crusade for you. As a developer, you don't really come into contact with these issues, so your arguments hold little water. With all your passion and belief that you are right above all others, you're an ideal candidate for the recruitment industry.

Come over to the dark side. We've got cake. :)

This is going to be my last post to you because, frankly, I'm bored of this conversation.

"Yes, a LOT of highly educated people in the EU speak English, but how many of those are games developers?" A significant amount of highly educated Europeans speak English. Most games developers are highly educated. Please comprehend. And it's precisely because of your inability to grasp logic like this that I'm bored of this conversation, and of you.

Cake? I'd rather eat my own face than work with you. And that's not a personal insult, simply a statement of fact. No chance. Ever, ever, ever.

Thanks for that information. It's eased my mind somewhat.

But, how do you prove that there is no better UK or EU alternative?

Well that just makes no sense at all. Poor lad, you really have got yourself in a bit of a tizz haven't you dear?

Well thanks for your contribution and opinion, but as your name says; it 'Doesn't Matter'.

Rest assured, other press may hype it up the UK Border Agency knows what they are doing and as such any application has to pass a Resident Labour Market Test RLMT. This includes proving when and where you have advertised the role and how long for and what agencies you have used. You have to produce invoices and advertisements and prove of all the people that applied, where they were from and give detailed feedback why EU candidates were not suitable for the role before they will consider a NON EU candidate. You then have to prove the salary you are offering and that the person is highly educated and has earned an equivalent salary in another country and they have to do a language test, prove that have funds to support them etc etc etc.

Of course even after all of this it doesn’t mean there isn’t someone in the EU that could do the role it just means that, that person may not want to work for you or is happy where they are. If they don’t apply for the role or an agency cant find them what can an employer do ?

Someone made a point earlier that there are hundreds of Highly Experienced Developers looking for work. I would seriously doubt it not Hundreds. A case in point, a high percentage of the Ex – Bizarre people now either have offers to choose from or are trying some new things or taking some time out. Many have accepted roles in Canada and I certainly have no ill feeling towards them if they wish to try that route. Good luck to them after all they shouldn’t even be in this situation and Bizarre should still be going strong.

Any other out of work developers that wants to chat feel free to contact me.

Simon.Miles@Codemasters.com

I could not help but notice that the point of graduates not having experience, or not having the ability-level needed for jobs was raised somewhere in the comments above (before things went off the rails).

Now, call me wrong here, but the whole point of experience is that the assumption is that one improves in their chosen craft when they have more experience, right? So if that is the case, then why are these graduates not being given the oppertunity to fine tune their craft by getting the experience they need?

Okay, so studios are not charities, but when graduates cannot get jobs due to their lack of experience, and are passed over in favour of those with experience then the industry has a problem. Or rather, a long-term problem, as those people with experience who keep getting hired are going to retire one day, and there will be a massive skills-gap in the industry because all those graduates years ago who were not employed in the industry they studied towards qualifications for joining will have moved on to different careers in different industries, and most probably re-trained themselves with a new and completely different skillset to what the games industry requires.

I have said it before, and I'll say it again: If you can get hired in the industry then it does not want to let you go, but if you have never been employed by the industry (or have only been employed as a contract QA worker) then you are more than disposable in the eyes of potential employers, unless you happen to personally know them. Nepotism makes the industry what it is I guess.

All I can comment on is our situation and I can confirm 20% of our yearly hires are graduates.

Have you had any personal experience of nepotism or did you just decide that that's how the industry works?
In the ten years I've worked in games, I've only come across one instance of nepotism & that individual got the boot when new management came in.
I'll also add that none of the non-eu developers I've worked with have been cheap labour. They have infact been some of the most talented people I've ever met. They have to be to get a visa & to be worth relocating.

That is good to see that graduates are getting chances, and I praise you for giving graduates such an oppertunity.

However, my comments were more in relation to seeing people in the industry comment that in general that graduates lack the experience that they are looking for, even for junior jobs, and that is when I get annoyed, as junior jobs are where one cuts their teeth in the industry, no? But maybe this is a debate saved for another day.

I've actually had both the displeasure of witnessing nepotism, and experiencing it. And quite frankly it made me sick to see that in an industry that prides itself on it's talent that those who better socially network themselves were being looked over in favour of those better suited to the job.

I agree on the non-EU workers point, if they are great workers then bring them in. Besides, a lot of UK workers are heading abroad to find work these days, so it would be hypocritical to say otherwise.

It looks like you've given up on your little england rant here.

You say there's 500 million to choose from in the EU. Well, there's another 6 billion outside of the EU.

If firms could choose from the wider pool, they'd have the better talent. This is really really simple.

kwyjibo - Good point

However the workplace is a market and if you have a smaller amount of experienced people applying for a post then to attract them you have offer more than the next company. This drives up wage expectations and therefore salary.

If you have a glut of applicants for each post then those applicants are simply just glad to have a job and wages will stagnate or go down. i.e How many people accepted pay freezes or cuts due to the recession and perceived lack of jobs.

Forget all the xenophobia, little britain guardian, daily mail rhetoric.

That's just the simply fact and therefore I wouldn't trust companies whom it is in their interest to increase the pool from which they can hire to want to make that pool bigger (world instead of UK) so they can hire better for cheaper.

Now you can argue that simply makes the British industry more competitive as the talent is cheaper and better and that benefits everyone not just the individual's companies bottom line however I wouldn't in the pub to someone who has had to take a pay freeze or cut and has seen a lot of the positions replaced with foreigners who are willing to work for much less.

It's simply another consequence of globalisation and it's neither good/bad per say.

First off, regarding AlexWM and Doesn't matter's posts. I love how you started off pretty opinionated and then realised that this is actually the only place where the majority of games developers in the UK come for information, and you are in fact tarnishing your names. So you both began to retract your statements, in the best polite ways possible. I am inclined to side with Doesn't matter though, as he did present a better argument. Although AlexWM 'Took the morale high ground' and offered his condescending services. If I'm ever in need of some patronisation lessons, I'll be sure to give you a call!

Anyway back to the topic at hand. I graduated this year and am working at a studio (luckily) but I know tons of extremely talented people who are still looking for work, because no one is willing to give people a chance. I can understand this from a business point of view, it is a risk, granted. But you have to ask yourself, why are studios hiring people from other countries? Thats right because other countries are providing a better education from actual industry professionals because they can actually get jobs in the industry. The vicious cycle begins.....

Unless UK studios start communicating more with universities to help educate students in the right areas, we are going to continue this cycle until we end up with studios entirely full of foreign workers with the Englishman at the top counting the money hes making.

I would also like to add that after graduating, I had sufficient enough skills to start working for a studio. The only thing I didn't understand was the pipeline - and lets me honest, that only takes a month or two to get your head around, then your as good as any other guy/girl whose being working there for a couple of years.

GIVE GRADUATES A BREAK!
______________________

Elliot

rite ok reading this has annoyed me more than over. See companies in the UK are acting like petulant little children. They moan graduates in the UK dont have the experience needed to get into the industry give me a break people why the hell do we go to university and pay thousands and thousands of pounds to get the qualification to get into the industry? o and we havent got the experience? how the hell do we get that if no one is employing to give us the opportunity to get that all important experience. we cant buy it apparently seeing as havin a degree seems worthless and we cant pluck it out of thin air. Bi*ching about not being able to employ out of the UK, look closer to home and try and bring new talents in. Give us a bloody chance to prove our selves atleast instead of slamming the doors in our faces just because we havent got experience. In my openion u can learn soo much more by having that industry job than from university or college because u will actually be learning from industry people. Companies just want ready made talent and not to invest in developing upcoming talents.

What ever happened to junior roles?

@Gilbert:
You can get experience by creating games in your spare time. I broke into the industry because I had extensive knowledge of Nintendo hardware and a portfolio of games. I also found many developers who had no qualifications and got their jobs solely because of their programming experience, and others with degrees who got their role for their own games.

Visual Studio C++ Express is free, as are many high quality libraries. The indie scene is rife with experienced developers who are more than welcome to help you in any way they can, be it advice on the types of games or reading material.

p.s. I was a graduate at the time.

In such a competitive environment, why should game studios be happy with limited access to the talent pool?

It would help if the education system could better prepare students, but unfortunately the education system simply has not caught up.

Whilst I do agree with many of the points raised, I do feel one of the more pressing issues for the industry in this country is the lack of fresh blood being allowed in.
As a recent graduate in game design, I can personally vouch for how difficult it is to find work in the industry. No studios will even think twice, because I haven't got a stack of published games under my belt, or a tally of years worked in the industry.
Is it sad that I'm actually debating leaving the country, so that I can find that opportunity to prove myself as a capable designer?
It's frustraiting to see companies complaining that their influx of experienced foreign labour is being reduced, when there's more than a few within our own boarders who simply get overlooked in favour of a proven track record!
Perhaps this move might stop studios and publishers from thinking with their wallets and start opening their eyes.

I am very pro-globalization and freedom of movement of labour. But there is a touch of laziness from the studios here in my view.

Micro transactions aren't rocket science, neither in fact is engine dev. Oh shock horror. Ok there aren't many Carmacks but there are many talented programmers. Pick someone in the team keen to get a new skill, give them a week out. Voila.

I have been watching the games industry for more than 20 years with an eye to doing something more interesting for a living. It has always complained of skills shortages. To me salary levels suggest there isn't one. In fact salaries are kept down relative to other tech industries because there are many prepared to work for less for fun.