Tiga to launch social networking-style HR site for studios

UK trade association Tiga today announced that it was using its part of NESTA’s new half-million ‘Raise the Game’ fund to build an online portal for studios that will aid recruiters and cross-industry job sharing.

Speaking at the NESTA event this morning, Tiga CEO Richard Wilson said the portal will launch in January 2009 and aims to help developers find staff local to them, help developers share resources and also ‘facilitate cross-collaboration between the games industry and other complementary industries, such as animation and television, through job swaps’.

The portal is in part a reaction to the growing skills shortage amongst UK developers.

To make sure the project moves ahead, Tiga will create a resource sharing model contract and best practice guide to make sure studios and industries properly work together.

Tiga also plans to organise a series of networking events around the UK to support and promote the site.

Said Wilson: “Skill shortages are a major problem for games developers. I am delighted, therefore, that Nesta will be supporting Tiga in providing a range of human resource solutions for the games industry, including the recruitment of staff, job sharing and job swapping. Tiga’s project will help to ameliorate skill shortages, encourage knowledge transfer and facilitate innovation and so enhance the competitiveness of games businesses throughout the UK.

“I want to thank Nesta on behalf of the entire games industry for the “Raise the Game” programme. The UK video games industry faces important challenges: we need a more favourable tax environment and we need to tackle skills shortages. Yet the UK’s video games industry is a success story; we have the fourth largest industry in the world in terms of revenue generation and we have the biggest games industry in Europe, employing over 22,000 people, including 10,000 in development. Nesta’s partnership with Tiga will help perpetuate our industry’s achievements.”