Hundreds of gamers expected at Scotland's leading recruitment fair

Game in Scotland takes place on Saturday 14 March 2009 at 12 noon in Fat Sams Nightclub in Dundee. The event offers anyone interested in working in the growing games sector the opportunity to meet Scotland’s top games development studios and learn about the variety of excellent job opportunities that are available within this exciting industry, from games design, animation and programming to testing and quality assurance.

Representatives from companies such as Realtime Worlds, 4J Studios, Denki, Cohort Studios, TAG Games, Proper Games, Outerlight, Codeplay, Dynamo Games, TPLD and Digital Goldfish will offer valuable advice and discuss some of the 60 employment opportunities currently open in the industry in Scotland.

The half-day event consists of a series of exhibition stands, informal company presentations, panel sessions and lots of opportunities to meet representatives from various games companies across Scotland including console, mobile and interactive TV development studios.

The afternoon will be rounded off with an informal networking reception that will allow attendees to continue chatting with the games companies’ representatives in a relaxed environment.

Colin MacDonald, Studio Manager, Realtime Worlds commented “We’ve hired more people from Game In Scotland than from any other recruitment event anywhere in the world, but still the appetite for more talent in Scotland’s games companies is insatiable, so it’s fantastic to see this year’s show looking like being bigger and better than ever.”

Over half of Scotland’s games development studios are based in Dundee – making the city the prime location for a Scotland-wide event. More than 500 people are employed in Scotland’s game sector which generates over £20 million annually and Scotland is home to some of the world’s most successful games development studios, creating top selling titles such as the Grand Theft Auto franchises, State of Emergency, Denki Blocks for the Sky TV Platform and the multi-award winning Crackdown for XBox360.

Jill Farrell, Regional Director, Scottish Enterprise, said “The games industry in Scotland could grow at a much faster pace if companies had access to more people with the skills and attitude required for entry level and experienced level positions. The sector needs new talent to help it grow and by staging the recruitment fair in Dundee, where many games companies and digital-media students are based, Scottish Enterprise can match skills with vacancies and help promote economic growth within the sector. This events publicises the career opportunities in games, boosts the profile of the computer industry and presents a unique networking opportunity between potential employees and industry.  Every year companies find new employees and more people are attracted into the industry.”

“Dundee is seen by many in the games industry as a key recruiting ground and there’s a real buzz about the industry in the city, making it the ideal spot to raise awareness of the exciting opportunities that are available in the Scottish games sector.”

The event is free to attend but registering in advance is essential as capacity is limited and places are awarded on a first come first serve basis.

For more information and to register for the event, visit the GameInScotland website

Susan McGuire
Regional Communications Executive
Scottish Enterprise
Telephone: 01382 305573
Email: susan.mcguire@scotent.co.uk