The NB Story - We Can and We Are

Last week I published a very unsatisfying story. It was about a kid named Morgan, who had to make a difficult choice about their career in the Province of New Brunswick. You can give it a read at the above link, but what I want to do this week is build off of one story beat in particular.

In last week's story, Morgan spoke with a Guidance Counsellor, and she suggested Morgan look into the options for Interactive Digital Media education in the Province. Morgan's response was, "I didn't know I could do that here," and it's a sentence I've heard a lot of over the years.

But why? Why do people think that you can't gain skills in Interactive Digital Media in New Brunswick?

There is a swath of reasons why I believe people perceive the Interactive Digital Media Industry as lacking in the Province of NB. However, when it comes to education, the most prominent reason is...

They don't know it exists

I have a laundry list of causes for this, but after discussing the industry with people for years, I've boiled it down to three factors (or areas we lack in): Visibility, Focus, and Opportunity.

Visibility

When it comes to the interactive digital media(IDM) industry in New Brunswick, most people don't know it exists. In fact, I've had conversations with people who are so relieved to have found another person pursuing a career in the field. Quite often, I hear things like, "I'm so glad there's someone else working on this here!" or, "I wish there were more people in the Province working on projects like this!"

This surprises me, as I found several projects that all fit under the umbrella of IDM. The issue here is those projects took me some time to find. I actively search for new projects, people, and initiatives in the IDM sector, and reach out whenever I can. But that's me as an ACTIVE searcher. The average person or student, isn't like me. They aren't scanning multiple sources looking for a mention of video games or virtual reality or interactive training, in the Province of New Brunswick. For most people, social media is their news feed, and the stories about this industry can get left in the dust during the news cycle.

Companies like Gogii Games, can get forgotten, even though Gogii is the largest games employer in the Province. Kognitiv Spark's innovative mixed-reality solution that helps important military and industrial infrastructure get online quicker, gets left behind. Even the University of New Brunswick with their Spectral Lab for Spatial Computing, CARE Virtual Reality Lab, and researchers changing the way therapy is done can get ignored!

This brings me back to education.

Several of our colleges offer programs in animation, games, or development. These skills are directly related to the IDM industry and have applications across the world of development. In fact, I once had a studio head from Charlottetown tell me they used to come down to Miramichi to poach students right after graduation because they were of such high quality. Looking at our Universities, many of them offer courses in Computer Science, Information Systems, or Game Design. The IDM sector is one of the largest employers of students with these degrees. And with UNB being the first Canadian institution to establish a Faculty of Computer Science, our students should be part of that. (Incidentally, if you know anyone looking for an education in this sector, share the list above or feel free to reach out.)

What we need is to talk more about cases like these. We need a voice that showcases our stories and makes them a focus for more people. Consequently...

Focus

Years ago when I spoke with economic development offices, I would hear things like, "I love what you're doing, but I have no way to help you. It's just not one of our initiatives." It's not that technology isn't one of the things NB wants to do, we have a lot of Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Fintech. It's that our sector is less known here, and most in the province don't understand that the global video game industry alone is valued at $347 Billion USD. That doesn't include animation, VR Solutions, or even EdTech, which added would value over $800 Billion USD (1.16 Trillion CAD).

Additionally, New Brunswick is heavily invested in our natural resources. Often, in those same conversations with Economic Development, the sectors that came up were: Oil, Gas & Energy; Forestry; Fishing; or the processing of those things. Our sector has the ability to directly aid in the adoption of Industry 4.0 for many of these industries, with Digital Twins and Artificial Intelligence being two things our industry excels in.

At the end of the day though, to be a focus for this Province, we need to be talking about one thing: Jobs. Over the years, New Brunswick has invested in sectors that bring a vast amount of jobs to the region. Although this is great for our unemployment numbers, what our industry offers, with the right investment, is a number of quality jobs. For example, the average Call-Center job in NB pays $38,510 per year, while the average video game industry job in Canada pays $78,600 per year.

Is that an opportunity worth focusing on for our future?

Opportunity

There are things around in the IDM sector in New Brunswick. I would not be writing this if I didn't know that to be the truth. However, even though there are a few of us around, that's still only a handful of local choices for the multitude of students we educate every year. And, although we would love to hire every single one to keep that talent in the Province, it's just not feasibly possible.

Because of this, the perception remains that there's nothing around, even though there's a good amount. However, that does not mean we have a healthy amount. For this industry to grow, we need more investment, and I don't just mean money. Many of the issues I outlined had to do with people's knowledge of the sector, which takes TIME to educate. We need to take the time to show why this is something worth investing in.

After all, we already have the educational infrastructure to support this sector, we just need more firms to fill. Students today take into consideration their passion, their well-being, and their financial outlook when looking for jobs. And, when they compare the average New Brunswick salary to the potential in the games industry, can you blame them for looking elsewhere to pursue their dreams? Around us are provinces that have put the IDM sector as a focus, and there the industry has grown, provided well-paying jobs, and increased the Provinces' tax base.

So, how can we grow? How can we provide opportunities for the next generation? How can we stem the outflow of talented New Brunswickers and keep their skills right here? How can we encourage new firms to land here and build their teams with local talent? What do we do to show people Interactive Digital Media is something worth investing in?

I don't know the answer to all these questions, but I'll leave you with this:

Only by celebrating our victories, will we change our industry.