Why More Employers Want To Hire People Based On Their Video Game Skills
Why More Employers Want To Hire People Based On Their Video Game Skills
Why More Employers Want To Hire People Based On Their Video Game Skills
By Mark C. Perna
November 14, 2023
Summary
Once seen as a distraction and waste of time, video games are gaining new levels of appreciation among employers for teaching in-demand skills.
Not only do at-home game systems have more computing horsepower than the computers that sent a man to the moon, but who doesn't have at least one game app on their smartphone? Thanks at least in part to the stay-at-home lockdowns caused by the pandemic, video game sales soared.
That's one of the thought-provoking conclusions issued in a new report by the ManpowerGroup called "Game To Work-How Gamers Are Developing The Soft Skills Employers Need.".
As part of the research that went into producing the "Game To Work" report, ManpowerGroup analyzed some 11,000 games across 13 genres to identify the kinds of professional skills gamers develop by playing video games.
ManpowerGroup also developed an online tool called the Gaming Skills Translator where gamers input their favorite games and then receive a report about the valuable skills they are learning while playing.
One of the more interesting takeaways for me from the "Game To Work" report was the idea that gamers should be encouraged to list on their resumes the games they like to play and the skills they're learning by playing, and ask about their gaming experience in interviews.
"Gamers develop knowledge and skills that transfer easily to the e-commerce industry, for example IT skills and cognitive skills such as focus, multitasking and cooperation," Daniel Hauan, Customer Care Manager, Komplett, is quoted as saying in the ManpowerGroup report.
Reference
Perna, M. C. (2023, November 13). Why more employers want to hire people based on their video game skills. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/markcperna/2023/11/14/why-more-employers-want-to-hire-people-based-on-their-video-game-skills/