How gaming chops translate into real-world business skills
The U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics found that more than 90 percent of IT workers are employed outside the IT industry, which makes it necessary for graduates to have both IT and complementary training in their respective business sectors. Utilizing serious games is a fun and engaging means of bridging this skills gap.
This holiday season, parents who bought Sony's PlayStation 3, Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, or the latest online game need not feel guilty. It turns out young people - and adults - aren't always just wasting time when they're playing video games.
Whether they're tapping away on video game controllers or the keys of their computers in popular online games, today's game players are acquiring skills that companies increasingly value as the gaming generation enters the workforce.
In fact, the skills needed to succeed in gaming can often help young people to be more sociable, develop strategic thinking, and become better leaders in life, according to the book The Kids are Alright: How the Gamer Generation Is Changing the Workplace. The authors, John Beck and Mitchell Wade, say games require use of various mental and social skills, often simultaneously. In a survey to find out whether the experience of gaming, and growing up surrounded by games, changes attitudes, expectations, and abilities related to business, "the answer is a resounding yes," they say.
