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Happy birthday to us!
Regional Gaming Academy Manager Colleen McLaughlin gives the National Gaming Academy a pat on the back on its 5th birthday
Five years ago we were busy getting the Regional Gaming Academy at Blackpool and the Fylde College ready for a major launch in the spotlight of gaming industry giants and national media. What an incredible five years we’ve had!
It was a time when the nation eagerly anticipated the announcement of the super casino location, which was widely expected to go to Blackpool. The industry was set to change in a major way and we were to be at the forefront of training staff and meeting the huge demand for qualified employees.
Little did we know it wasn’t to work out that way. Blackpool lost out to Manchester in the shock super casino decision, then later the plans were scrapped altogether. We had to change our strategy and adapt to the changing circumstances – it was a testing time but five years on, the gaming academy is still here and continuing to grow.
Since then, we’ve formed a very successful partnership with two other gaming academies – North Warwickshire and Hinckley College, and Greenwich Community College – to form the National Gaming Academy. The geographical spread of our academies means we can offer training to all corners of the country and our assessors can travel to deliver on site training, something which would be more difficult without these locations. Working together, we can also develop partnerships with national as well as local companies, enhance our reputation and share best practise to ensure we are at the top of our game.
We’ve made a massive breakthrough in professionalising the gaming industry. Offering qualifications right up to degree level means people see working in this industry as a career now, rather than just a stop-gap job. Anyone can get a job working in a casino, and our training means they can work their way up and progress quickly up the career ladder. Alternatively, they can enrol at a gaming academy, train on our top level facilities and leave job-ready – one reason why our employment rates are consistently high.
We’re particularly proud of our innovation in course development. Our staff write current programmes that are relevant to industry and we constantly adapt our programmes and add to our bank of qualification to meet the changing needs of the employers.
We’ve also continually improved and invested in our facilities since launching. Finding the funding to purchase the best training equipment isn’t always easy but we understand the importance of producing graduates who can use the latest technologies and products available to industry.
As we continue to find new ways of working with industry, we’re pleased that our Degree in Casino Operations Management is now in its second year. We’ve worked with Aspers to develop the blended learning approach, where trainees spend two weeks at college combined with online sessions the rest of the time. Aspers have given fantastic feedback on this approach, and it has enabled them to invest in their management team and give them the knowledge to manage a new generation of casinos.
So we look forward to the next five years and beyond. We expect to see casinos become entertainment centres, boasting fine dining, different gaming options and even live entertainment – they won’t just be somewhere to gamble – and we’re ready to help industry prepare for the changes. New challenges face us, particularly with government funding, but the Academy has the skills, experience and fantastic employees to face these challenges head on.
You’re Hired!
There’s one thing missing from our bank of qualifications, and that’s an apprenticeship.
Despite many spending cuts announced by the Government recently, they have pledged extra funding for apprentices and as such we’re very keen to develop a framework for apprenticeships within the gaming industry.
I’d like to personally thank the Chair of BACTA Kevin Scott for all his support and everyone at ICE who offered their backing to our proposals. If anyone else would like to send in letters of support to assist with our case, we’d welcome them. You can email gaming@blackpool.ac.uk
This would be a great step forward for the NGA and I hope all of our hard work pays off.
Donation Station
Thanks to CCTV company Synetics donating a significant amount of equipment to the Gaming Academy, we’ve really been able to progress with our security courses.
Donations like this really do make a difference to our training and help us to widen the range of services we can offer the industry. It also helps us to keep our offering current.
As a result, we are now running SIA (Security Industry Authority) courses, a recognised qualification for door staff. To find out more, contact Gavin by emailing gty@blackpool.ac.uk
