DAVAO CITY (PIA) -- Companies engaged in animation and game development are seeking more talent in Davao City.

Executive Director Ria Lu of the Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP) and Chief Executive Officer of Leverate, a game and animation company, said that for Davao City to tap the massive opportunities in animation and game development, it has to expand the pool of creative talent in the city.

“What we are doing, and you do hear about our projects in Davao, is trying to up that talent pool to get our artists, our creators, and our developers to be at that level where we can compete with the rest of the world. And the only thing stopping us is supply,” Lu said during her recent guesting at the Philippine Information Agency-XI’s One Davao online presser.

She cites her company, Leverate, which is a Singapore-registered animation and game development company that taps Filipino creative talents for their outsourced projects. They have recently expanded to Davao in partnership with BlueTell, a Davao City-based outsourcing company.

“Like a lot of companies here in the Philippines, we do a lot of outsourced work. Basically, we do games and animation projects for game and animation companies outside,” Lu said.

“A big portion of the game and animation industry in our country is really outsourced. If you are familiar with games such as ‘Witcher,’ ‘Last of Us,’ or ‘Gears of War,’ parts of those are being made dito sa Pilipinas (in the Philippines), that is a big part of our industry,” she added.

Aside from outsourced projects, game designers and animators are also producing games in the country.

With a big market potential for Filipino creative talents, Lu said they are looking for more animators and game developers to tap into that market.

“One of the problems a lot of schools have is when it comes to OJTs (on-the-job trainees). For example,  how many game and animation companies are here in Davao? I think wala masyado (not so much) so what happens, is pagdating ng OJT, either the student takes an OJT of non-related course, like if they are taking animation, but they have no choice because of the few animation companies, so they take an OJT not related to animation, or some would fly to Manila to take OJT in game and animation companies,” Lu said, adding that they are exploring doing a reverse OJT.

(One common issue many schools face is the availability of on-the-job training (OJT) opportunities, especially in specialized fields like game and animation companies. For instance, here in Davao, there aren't many game and animation companies. This means that when students need to do their OJT, they might have limited options. Sometimes, they end up doing their OJT in fields unrelated to their course because there are few opportunities available. Others might choose to travel to Manila to find OJT placements in game and animation companies there.)

“What we’re doing with the schools ngayon (now) is developing reverse OJT. Instead of the students flying to Manila, magpapadala nalang kami ng tao (we’ll send people) here, and we work with the schools, use their labs as their studios, and do their OJTs there, “Lu said.

The reverse OJT will give valuable learning opportunities to students that they cannot get if they stay and do their OJT in Davao City.

Lu said they have met with schools in Davao, particularly those with animation-related courses.

“So far, we have met Holy Child I.T. Academy and AISAT (Asian International School of Aeronautics and Technology). I know they have a 3D program, and we have a meeting with UM (University of Mindanao). Those are some of the schools thatwe know might be able to offer these programs as well,” she said.

She added that their group would like to touch base with other creative stakeholders, such as the academe and the government.

“We really need to work closely with the academe and it is very important for us that the academe is well-equipped to teach the skills that we need,” Lu said.

Trainings

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Region XI is eyeing to conduct relevant animation training among students and professionals, utilizing schools as laboratories.

“After that, they will come up with a whole production or project that they will pitch or look for investors to fund the project,” Ariel Nengasca, chief trade and industry development specialist of the Department of Trade and Industry-XI, said.

He added that the main goal of the proposed training project is to come up with a pool of animators in Davao that meets the criteria of global clients.

“Our target for animation is 100. We want to train 100 students and professionals,” Nengasca said. (RGA/PIA Davao)