The government has set up an industry group to spearhead a strategy to create 2,500 digital games jobs in Ireland by 2014.
The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, has established a Clustering Development Team for the games sector. It will be chaired by Paul Breslin of Popcap, with Internet entrepreneur Dylan Collins as vice chair.
The team also includes representatives of other leading Irish and multinational games companies based in Ireland including Demonware, Blizzard, Gala, Digit Games, Jam Media, Swrve and Games Ireland, as well as representatives of relevant government bodies.
Minister Bruton said a major Government report had set the target of 2,500 new jobs in computer gaming, doubling employment in the sector by the end of 2014. The report had recommended setting up an industry-led group to drive implementation of measures to achieve that goal.
“We are fast developing an expertise in digital games which can be a foundation for major jobs growth. The games sector here has expanded fivefold since 2004 and now employs approximately 2,500 people here – and continues to grow worldwide at a rate of 8% annually.” – Minister Bruton
The move has been welcomed by Discover Science and Engineering (DSE). Dr Graham Love, Director of DSE and Policy and Communications at Science Foundation Ireland, said: “Smart Futures highlights the value of collaboration with and across industry. It is effective as a means of showcasing the opportunities for employment that exist and can be created in this market.
“We look forward to engaging with the Digital Games development group to ensure the benefit of the existing collaboration is effectively harnessed in support of the Group’s objectives.”
Read about the group’s membership and terms of reference on the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation’s website
