In Nevada, some of the most stable jobs in the field have been with the slot suppliers. For those seeking to become game developers, one challenge has been that students under 21 don’t have the opportunity to study a lot games in the field. In Nevada and many states, the legal gambling age is 21.
For the past 12 years, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) has provided a solution. It created the Center for Gaming Innovation (CGI) at the UNLV International Gaming Institute. A panel discussion Monday (7 October) at the Global Gaming Expo demonstrated the dynamics of the process. It featured the three components—class instruction, manufacturer recruitment, and the UNLV official that brings those two together.
The panel, titled “Cultivating the Next Generation of Game Manufacturers,” was moderated by Dr. Daniel Sahl, the CGI director. He is a principal professor of undergraduate and graduate classes in the program.
How the program works
Panelists included Dr. Nicole Hudson, UNLV’s executive director of workforce education, in the school’s Career Services and Workforce Development Department; Connie Kim, senior talent acquisition partner at IGT; and Amani Adeoye, a UNLV computer engineering student who completed Sahl’s class last year and now works for bingo supplier Arrow International.
Sahl laid out the nuts and bolts of the program. It starts with one week of class instruction featuring manufacturers partnering in the program. Guest lecturers from IGT, Acres, Everi, Ainsworth, Playtech, Arrow International and the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) provide orientation for the students.
What follows is a six-week paid summer internship for each student with a partner company. Many of the companies offer the students employment upon graduation.
Sahl said of the 10 students that took his class last year, eight are seriously considering employment with slot suppliers. Five of the students were offered continued placement at the companies where they interned.
Learning the lingo critical for future game developers
Adeoye, the student intern, said the most important aspect of the program for him was learning how to apply computer engineering to an industry as unique as slot supply. For instance, knowing how to write code doesn’t teach you industry terminology, he said.
“Understanding how small this industry is, there’s a lot of terminology and way things are supposed to go that you don’t really understand,” Adeoye said. “So having that first week to understand what RTP is—a concept as simple as that is, I’d never heard of it before that first week. And being able to put very concrete ideas that are very well known in this industry into my head was very impactful.”
“Slot gaming is such a niche market,” said IGT’s Kim. “So to find these folks, you are headhunting. You’re out there and you’re competing with a lot of other gaming companies. That’s definitely always been a challenge for us.”
She said that layoffs at big tech companies recently eased the talent shortage. But there are always periods where slot suppliers are competing for new engineering talent.
Matchmaking part of the program
Hudson, meanwhile, is charged with matching budding game developers at UNLV to the needs of the market. “At UNLV, my role is to be a partner with our career services,” she said. “My job is to go out externally, work with our employers, talk and learn more about skill sets, skill needs, and help bridge the gap between academia and the workforce…
“Manufacturers will reach out to me periodically and ask me to recommend students who might fit certain job openings. It was getting to the point that the demand was far greater than the students I had available.”
This was one reason UNLV created the “micro-credential” certification. The certificate prepares students for a specific job need that also counts as credit toward their degrees.
Most of all, said Sahl, the program gives students “the opportunity to understand a little bit more about how these companies work. Something I’ve tried to foster is stronger cooperation between educational institutions and manufacturing companies. And that’s not to say that we don’t already have some great relationships with companies, but we’re giving students opportunities to learn more about certain skills and, the opportunities that these companies have.”