Austrian gaming equipment supplier Novomatic AG has launched a training programme to foster developers of new games.
Novomatic has called the six-month-long programme the Corporate Coding Academy. After a combination of on-the-job training and coursework, candidates will graduate from the academy as junior game developers. Applications are open until July 31 and the first class begins in November.
“We need game developers, and our plan is to use this programme, unique in Austria, to ensure that our new recruits are perfectly trained,” Novomatic’s global human resources director Klaus Niedl was quoted as saying in a company press release.
In the statement published on Tuesday, Novomatic said the free programme would be taught in three stages of eight weeks each by experienced specialists from the software and game development sectors. The course would be taught face-to-face and online, with the in-class sessions conducted at three game studios, either in Vienna or Gumpoldskirchen, in Austria.
Novomatic says its academy trainees will receive instruction in how a game studio operates, the game development process and programming languages such as C++ and SDL/OpenGL. Successful candidates must pass a selection process that includes playing a game in a task designed to reveal their technical and analytical abilities.
“As one of the largest gaming technology companies in the world, we also produce games for the digital-interactive sector. It’s the fastest-growing sector in the entire gaming industry,” Mr Niedl said. “Continued technological development is an important part of our company strategy, and we simply must have motivated and well-trained talents. This is why we founded the Corporate Coding Academy, in order to discover the game developers of the future, to train them and, if possible, to keep them within the company.”
Novomatic took a 52-percent stake in Australian slot maker Ainsworth Game Technology Ltd earlier this year after a two-year process.
Novomatic’s vice president of global sales, Lawrence Levy, said the deal would help the company expand its market share in Asia. The company is a leading producer and operator of gaming technology, exporting high-tech electronic gaming equipment and solutions to more than 75 countries. Novomatic employs more than 25,500 staff worldwide.
