Warwickshire’s 16 to 24-year-olds have a unique opportunity to level-up their skills in a variety of areas, learn through play and discover whether a digital future could be for them.
The University of Warwick’s Esports Futures programme is one of the initiatives invested in as part of Warwickshire County Council’s Brighter Futures Work, which is funded as part of the county’s share of the national Community Renewal Fund. The project’s aim is to work towards re-engaging young people in learning and skills development using esports as a catalyst to excite and entertain.
Over a two-day experience, the participants will form teams to create a sandbox tournament to explore all aspects of running and playing in an esports event. They will learn how to use recording software, format a tournament and plan the event, as well as gain knowledge and experience in marketing, creating content and assets to promote it. These are essential skills in play and tactics, team building, communication, live-streaming, marketing and social media.
At the end of the second day of activity, the participants will meet with industry experts to share their experience, discuss the skills they’ve learnt and explore the broad range of roles in industries such as computer games, esports, marketing agencies, events and hospitality.
In total, the Esports Future project aims to inspire 200 individual young people from across Warwickshire between January to June 2022. Criteria for participants are:
- 16-24 years old
- A Warwickshire resident
- Unemployed or economically inactive
- They can be Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET), but the programme are also accepting young people who are not at risk of NEET
Anyone who fits these criteria, knows someone who does or would like to find out more information, can visit: https://warwick.ac.uk/esports/esports_futures/youth-services/
Cllr Peter Butlin, Deputy Leader of the Warwickshire County Council and Portfolio Holder for Finance and Property, said: “We are delighted that highly innovative schemes, such as Esports Futures, can be funded in Warwickshire as a result of our Community Renewal funding.
“Esports Futures is such a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference to lives of 16 to 24-year-olds across Warwickshire by increasing their skills across a diverse range of disciplines and perhaps even starting their journeys into interesting and lucrative fields such as video game design, marketing and hospitality.”
Stuart Croft, Vice Principal at The University of Warwick, said: “I am delighted that the University of Warwick’s Esports programme is continuing to help bring fresh skills, investment, and job opportunities to our local community. Through the generous support of the Community Renewal Fund and working closely our regional partners,
“Warwick is proud to further our commitment to esports by welcoming young people from across our region to our campus so that they can learn about and acquire practical knowledge of this exciting sector, and meet industry experts and employers to explore the skills they can gain and develop. I send my best wishes to everyone who will be taking part and hope they enjoy all that our Esports Centre has to offer.”
More information about Esports futures is available online: https://warwick.ac.uk/esports/esports_futures/youth-services/
Brighter Futures in Warwickshire
Warwickshire Brighter Futures has received £1.1 million from the UK Government through the UK Community Renewal Fund.
The UK Community Renewal Fund
The UK Community Renewal Fund is a UK Government programme for 2021/22. This aims to support people and communities most in need across the UK to pilot programmes and new approaches to prepare for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It invests in skills, community and place, local business, and supporting people into employment.
For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-community-renewal-fundprospectus
