What it's like to be an apprentice in the gaming industry

WHETHER you're new to the workplace, looking to improve your skills or fancy a complete career change, there's an internship for you.

Students combine work with training and study. Acquiring those crucial new skills can boost your earning potential or lead to that dream job.

3

If you are an employer, the benefits are enormous. You can nurture and develop that potential and enthusiasm as you shape your workforce for the roles your industry needs – and apprenticeships are also suitable for employers of all sizes.

In the government's 2017 Apprenticeships Evaluation Employer Survey, 86 percent of employers said apprenticeships helped them develop skills relevant to their organization, and 74 percent said apprenticeships helped improve the quality of their product or service.

Sumo Digital is an exciting, award-winning internship employer.

It makes renowned video games, including Sackboy: A Big Adventure and Team Sonic Racing. It started in Sheffield in 2003 with 20 employees and now has 1,700 employees across 17 studios in Europe, Canada and India.

It offers apprenticeships for game programmers through the Sumo Digital Academy, which has 27 Level 7 apprentices.

“Game development is complex and some of our students – and half our staff – have PhDs,” says Sumo Digital Academy director Dr Jake Habgood, who has worked in the games industry and education for almost 30 years.

3

“Game programmers typically come from a STEM background – we have a lot of physicists or mathematicians.

“We have also had musicians and media students. This year we have Emma, ​​​​who was originally a fashion business student. And we also have Arune, who used to work in a Shell garage. If we can find people with the potential, we are happy to train them.”

Jake's top tips for getting the most out of your internship

1 Think about what you like before you apply

“For example, if you're going to do our diversity internship program, it's important that you've tried programming and discovered that you have the bug for it. It's not something you have to slog through.”

2 Ask questions and don't be afraid to make mistakes

“Make the most of having industry experts in the same room to help you and explain things.”

3 Find your niche

“Discover the area that really interests you. Game teams are huge. We have hundreds of programmers working on one project for years: AI coders who code the behavior of the characters, gameplay programmers who do the things the player sees most, like the rules of the game… the list goes on.”

4 There is no better placement than a personal placement

“Remote working is now the norm in the digital industry. But if you are a student, taking advantage of the opportunity to interact with people in your field is an immensely valuable experience.”

Jake is keen to point out that it's a job for problem solvers of all ages, not just gaming enthusiasts.

“Some people have a passion for video games, but I wouldn't say it's essential. There are certainly people who don't play much, but still enjoy solving creative problems, whether in programming or design.”

Sumo Digital designed its own gold standard for apprenticeships – targeting the exact knowledge and skills that video game makers would need – and registered as an employer provider.

“The sector had not previously been involved in apprenticeships. It deals with very specific problems and programming languages, so the generic apprenticeship standards didn't really work for us,” says Jake.

Students spend 18 months learning all aspects of game development while getting paid.

They have been working at the academy from day one, learning and developing Sumo products. “It's a very natural transition from learning content to something you build.

“For example, our students recreated a game from the 1990s called Zool. There is a lot of interest in retro gaming and it gives them a way to work on a real project where it's okay to make mistakes,” says Jake.

“Our first cohort has just completed the program. Everyone passed and got a job here.”

Jake hopes the apprenticeships will be a real springboard for more women to join the sector.

“This plan is a big driver for us because the traditional channels are very male-dominated in terms of technology. Six of our interns are women. It's certainly not 50-50. We wish it were so.”

Sumo Digital also offers a diversity internship program, aimed at underrepresented groups, to spot raw talent. “We run it remotely for six weeks in the summer as a precursor to our apprenticeship recruitment.”

For more information and training options, visit Skills for life

3