Esports workshop backed by Prince’s Trust aims to help unemployed youngsters find work

Dominic Sacco

3 min read | 19 Jun 2017

The British Esports Association recently visited the new education initiative. How does it work? Rob Allen reports.

A new Enemy of Boredom (EOB) esports initiative has been set up to help long-term unemployed young people learn new skills and access new opportunities.

The pilot ran in partnership with the Prince’s Trust, a youth charity helping people aged 13 to 30 to get into jobs, education and training. It was held over a four-week period and ran five days a week.

Participants were tasked with creating an online magazine, which can be seen on https://theenemyofboredom.com, where they wrote articles about everything gaming-related, from new releases to nutrition advice for gamers.

They also had to form temporary esports teams with the aim of learning how to play League of Legends. Many of the participants were clearly engaged, watched professional games and tried to replicate what they had seen.

Course members had to work together using teamwork, communication and strategy effectively to win.

In the final week, they visited Aardman studios, the British animation studio behind the popular Wallace and Gromit productions. Participants met with the creative director who explained the basics of game design as well as setting them a task to come up with their own game concept that they had to pitch to the rest of the people.

Esports was one aspect of the course.

One of the participants commented: “I wanted to get involved with the project because it advertised something completely new for those that want to get into the creative industry as well as providing an insight to esports and making some valuable connections.

“I especially loved the team building throughout the project as a whole, because team communication and efficiency is imperative to any organisation or company. Furthermore I got to meet some industry professionals which provided a great insight in how to get a foothold in the creative industry.”

Steve Godwin, creator and director at WUWO Media, the organisation behind the initiative, said: “Many young people have been hiding from society, playing computer games and not moving forward with their lives, these young people are often overlooked. It could be confidence has been lost, or anxiety issues are faced daily.

“EOB Esports aims to help these young people become self-assured citizens by offering a qualification, creating a culture of teamwork and helping them find apprenticeships or work with the assistance of the esports and creative industries.

“The teaching and content that we provide is fun and exciting, and through engaging young people with successful companies, we aim to inspire them and raise their aspirations for what they can achieve.

“By channeling their interests, we want young people that have edged out of the system to find their way back and feel a sense of purpose – firstly by getting them work-ready, and secondly by helping them to connect with employers.”

For more info visit http://www.wuwomedia.com/eob-esports/