Academics investigate how gaming can train crucial employability skills
An international team of researchers including the University of Warwick are investigating how playing video games is helping to develop vital skills needed in the 21st Century workforce.
Funded by the European Union's Horizon Programme, the three-year MEGASKILLS project will address the European skills gap by studying the skills people develop while playing popular video games such as Immortals Fentyx Rising, Call of Duty and FIFA, and matching these skills to what employers need in their workforce.
Chris Brown, Professor in Education Studies at the University of Warwick who is leading the project said: "Parents of teenagers often worry about the impact of video games on their child's mental health and how long they are spending in front of a screen but not much is known about how useful video games can be in terms of learning new skills.
"Video gaming involves a lot of complex engagement mentally. While playing, gamers are focused on achieving certain levels and have to think creatively and strategically about what they are doing, and often they are doing this while communicating alongside another player, or other gamers who could be in a different country and don't speak the same language – so there is a lot of interpersonal skills at play in these instances.
"What we are interested in, is how the development of these soft skills can translate into the real world. The development of AI and technology is transforming the economy and work as we know it, many people will need to retrain to remain viably employable."
During the first stage of the project the researchers have identified which soft skills are most needed by industry in the 21st Century. The MEGASKILLS team conducted a systematic review and asked people in business including to identify the most important soft skills needed in an employee.
The study identified the Big Three Soft Skills that are important in the 21st century and can be developed through video games as:
- Critical thinking: the ability to actively and skillfully analyse, synthesise, and evaluate information in order to formulate responses, solutions, and make informed decisions.
- Creativity: the ability to generate original and innovative ideas, approaches, and solutions to problems through the application of knowledge, imagination, and divergent thinking.
- Adaptability: the ability to adjust and modify behaviour, plans, or strategies in response to new or changing situations.
"Now we have understood the demand for soft skills in the workforce, and identified which are the most important to employers, we will be investigating how video games are training these soft skills," continues Professor Brown.
"Ultimately we want to arm schools with new training and evaluation techniques which will allow students to learn vital skills in innovative ways and be better prepared when entering the labour market of the not-too-distant future."
Student Ollie Clowes who is studying biomedical science at the University of Warwick and a member of the Esports society said: "The biggest skill I have developed from gaming in a competitive setting would be communication. One of the biggest differences between Esports and more traditional sports is that the only form of communication you will receive from your teammates is speech. Due to this, I am more careful with what words I use as well as aiming to be as concise as possible in a fast-paced environment.
"I have also developed leadership skills as within one of my teams I was designation shot caller which meant I had to designate tasks rapidly to my teammates and ensure it was the best call for the specific situation."
The next phase of the project is underway and over the next six months the research team will study different video games and identify how video games are training the Big Three Soft Skills.
The team will then use their research to build an accreditation platform which will allow people to demonstrate the skills achieved through gaming on their CVs. The project concludes in January 2026.
