Randstad US Partners with Gamesmith to Connect Talent with Open Roles
April 27, 2021 – As video games increasingly become one of the world’s largest sources of entertainment, Randstad US has partnered with Gamesmith, which has deep relationships with thousands of video game development studios across the world, to fill open positions in the $118 billion video game industry. The partnership will leverage Randstad’s national hiring infrastructure and network of tech-based talent who may not have previously considered a career in gaming with Gamesmith’s industry knowledge. “The gaming industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and it needs a pipeline of talent to help fuel this growth,” said Josh Vesely, enterprise and integrated talent solutions leader at Randstad. “To capitalize on this moment and close a worsening skills gap, the industry needs to expand its talent base and consider new, alternative methods of hiring. Our partnership with Gamesmith will make that happen.”
The partnership comes at a time when the video game industry is experiencing a surge in demand. At the height of the pandemic, 55 percent of American consumers turned to video games for entertainment, which helped boost global sales by 20 percent in 2020 and create almost 20,000 jobs last year alone, according to The Verge. This growth is on top of an unemployment rate that is already near zero percent for those with gaming development and design skills.
“The global games market is under immense growth and pressure fueled by new hardware, platforms, territories and player base,” said Alex Churchill, founder of Gamesmith.com, the discovery platform for game professionals. “Games are the No.1 core leisure activity with over 2.5 billion users all demanding fresh content, higher quality and a full immersion experience. Gamesmith is very happy to partner with Randstad as it provides new opportunities for our members. Traditional hiring practices have changed during COVID-19 and partnering with Randstad allows our community to benefit from their experience.”
Recent Alliance
Randstad US and Udemy have also partnered to offer free educational courses to American workers either already placed or currently looking for roles through Randstad’s job network. The alliance focuses on providing access to the skills needed to increase career mobility in primarily technical sectors. “We have partnered with Udemy to ensure that our talent has access to the fresh and high-quality content they need to become and remain employable in the ever-changing job market,” said Jennifer Seith, senior vice president of product strategy and innovation at Randstad US. “The pandemic has highlighted the importance of equipping every American with versatile skills that can easily transfer to growth industries, especially in the technology sector. This partnership will allow talent in Randstad’s network to focus on enhancing their skills to grow in their current roles and better position themselves for future roles, as well.”
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“Udemy is proud to partner with forward-thinking organizations like Randstad that are directly aligned with our mission to improve lives through learning,” said Stephanie Stapleton, vice president of customer success at Udemy. “As the skills required to do nearly every job continue to change, this partnership will provide access to development opportunities that are actionable, dynamic, and meet individuals in their specific moment of need.”
The partnership is part of Randstad US’ contribution to the Pledge to America’s Workers, a national initiative to train and retrain workers in order to translate their skills to more in-demand industries. Through the initiative, Randstad US is committed to skilling 40,000 U.S. workers — and to building a more resilient workforce in a challenging economy exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Product Launch
To help American employers start planning the safe return of employees and the general public back into public spaces, Randstad US has begun rolling out a suite of technology tools that can be used by companies to protect public health and help businesses adhere to changing safety guidelines. “Safely returning to the office remains challenging, particularly with new public health protocols that can carry a health risk for the employees tasked with enforcement,” said Pascal de Hesselle, principal at Randstad Technologies Group. “Randstad will work with employers to automate and implement key aspects of return-to-workplace safety to minimize risk for the employer and employees alike.”
Randstad’s “back to office” solutions include technology services to help employers implement health screening protocols and contactless entry to workplaces or public spaces and ensure the widespread use of masks inside the workplace. Randstad’s new offerings include end-to-end elevated temperature screening that enables real-time screening across multiple employee/visitor entry and exit points, assembly points, and other high-volume areas; innovative mask-detection technology that ensures compliance with mask-wearing protocols and provides real-time updates to employers; and no-touch devices and monitoring systems to support contactless time-entry and building access to reduce the risk of exposure from contact with shared services.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media