YOUth Can Make It Happen: BOI highlights PH’s game development industry workforce at PGDX 2023

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With the country’s young and talented workforce, the Board of Investments (BOI) expressed its optimism on the promising potential of the country’s game development industry during the first Philippine Game Development Expo at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on August 18, 2023.

Throughout the three-day event, the BOI had a booth to connect with game developers and pitch business opportunities through incentives available to them. It joined the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) and the Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) in sending messages about the government’s efforts in promoting and improving the country’s game development industry.

The event, which was organized by the Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP), brought together game developers and enthusiasts to promote the numerous opportunities in the game development and animation industry of the Philippines.

In her opening remarks, Executive Director Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa recognized the pivotal role of the game development sector in the country’s economy, being known as one of the higher-value segments of the IT-BPM industry.

“We recognize the notable contribution of the game development industry to the Philippine economy and quality employment of Filipinos,” she told the attendees.

In 2022, the digital interactive goods and service activities, which include Game Development and Animation, contributed over Php325 billion or over 20% of the country’s GDP. In terms of employment, the digital interactive sector recorded a growth rate of 4.5%, providing a total of 388, 828 jobs.

Notably, the BOI official introduced the “YOUth Can Make It Happen” Campaign, which is aligned with the BOI’s investments promotion campaign “Make It Happen in the Philippines.”

The campaign advocates promising opportunities in the game development for the youth with the belief that by providing competitive career options for the younger generation, the better it will be for the future of the country’s economy. In partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd) and GDAP, video was produced to raise awareness among secondary school students about the Philippine Game Development Industry.

“Through this initiative, we hope to inspire and motivate young people to explore the opportunities available, pursue their dreams, and turn them into reality,” she said.

The BOI pledged to help move the industry to higher levels of growth and achieve its roadmap targets by continuously replenishing the pool of qualified labor and consequently reducing the training costs of local companies. To this end, the BOI has partnered with academic organizations to implement projects and programs that will pave the way to graduates’ employability and fulfill the needs of industries.

In particular, the partnership with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to strengthen industry-academe linkages resulted in the conduct of the National Skills Mapping and Survey on Human Resource Development Needs of the IT-BPM sector. Published in June 2022, the report underscored the concern about the readiness of talent entering the workforce in the game development industry.

The report confirmed the need for proactive government interventions to equip students with the necessary skills for the future. It emphasized the reskilling and upskilling of the industry workforce to remain competitive globally.

As such, the BOI has also been coordinating with DepEd to implement relevant initiatives through their upcoming collaboration program on “Kids for the Future of Philippine Industrialization” to support learners and educators in expanding their knowledge of industry trends, technologies, industry skills, and competency requirements and challenges, among others.

Other government officials who also delivered their presentations to express their support to GDAP were Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary Jocelle Batapa-Sigue, and Director Emmy Lou V. Delfin, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Director Bianca Pearl Sykimte of the Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) and Director Jo-Dann Darong of the DTI Competitiveness Bureau.

On the other hand, Mr. Alvin Juban and Mr. James Ronald Lo, the chairman and the president of GDAP respectively, said that various government agencies, including the BOI, have been supportive of them for a very long time to bolster the country’s game development and animation industry.

In PGDX 2023, participants engaged with, experienced, and learned more about game development. Other activities conducted were a series of workshops, interactive activities, panel discussions, and B2B opportunities.