CAVC Esports masterclass shows pupils the career paths behind the game

Cardiff and Vale College recently welcomed Year 9 pupils from Mary Immaculate High School to learn about the huge range of career paths behind the fast-growing Esports industry.

Hosted by the College’s Esports team, the pupils enjoyed a masterclass in team building, a wide range of activities including Makerspace activities, experienced Virtual Reality headsets, took part in an F1 time trial competition, Minecraft building, Lego Mindstorm, programming robots and used tablets for a creative experience. They also tried their hands at podcasting and using greenscreen technology used in esports broadcasting. and saw a demonstration of 3D printing and were shown how it works.

Alongside this, the pupils also learnt more about the many and varied career paths you can progress into in the esports industry or after studying esports using the wider skills and experience gained.

The UK Esports sector is an area of considerable growth, with online gamers predicted to reach 11.56m by 2027, an increase of 6.64% on the figure for 2023. CAVC’s Esports courses provide specialist qualifications, endorsed by the British Esports Association, that can open doors to a range of progression options from Esports through to Event Management and Sports Journalism.

CAVC offers popular Esports courses post-16 at every level through to higher education, endorsed by the British Esports Association, helping learners progress into a career and industry they’re passionate about, with sector specific knowledge as well as transferable skills that employers value. Courses include marketing, event management, broadcasting, content development, coaching and psychology alongside experiences of professional level gaming.

Mary Immaculate High School in Cardiff was one of the first schools in the country to develop a dedicated esports facility, enabling school pupils to engage with this growing subject.

Mary Immaculate High School Teacher of Maths, Retail, Business, Esports and Head of Year 8 Mr Butcher said: “The pupils thoroughly enjoyed their Esports experience at CAVC. They loved the practical element of the Mindstorm and experiencing the greenscreen and content creation. “They also loved seeing a different side to Esports and the actual lesson delivered was highly engaging and well thought out. The College staff were friendly and welcoming, and the pupils were impressed with the facilities. They found it interesting to know about the different career paths open to them and it’s definitely something we’d like to do again next year.”

Cardiff and Vale College Principal Sharon James-Evans said: “We were delighted to be able to invite the pupils from Mary Immaculate High School to CAVC to give them a taste of our Esports offer and facilities. Esports is such a growing industry and to be able to inspire the next generation and show them the options open to them is always a pleasure.”