Some of the biggest names in the industry will be at the Vancouver Career Fair for VFX, Animation and Video Games on May 14. If you’re looking to get involved in one of the fastest-growing niches of the tech sector on the west coast, prepare to be wooed by the likes of Sony Pictures, Imageworks, and Industrial Light & Magic, Electronic Arts, and Capcom. Close to 30 companies are hiring – and they’re expecting a crowd of at least 1,500 to show up for the big event.
Demand is hot for talent across increasingly interlinked silos of tech-fueled companies, and it’s not just highly technical folks who need to apply, explains Nancy Mott, DE&I sector expert with VEC. “As time has gone on, we see that across visual effects and games, the talent can move from one area to the other. You need a large team just to keep up with the evolution of the technology, in all kinds of roles. For instance, while a lot of positions people are looking for are in digital artistry and development, you still need roles like HR and finance as well. There’s a place for them in these digital and entertainment industries.”
While the games and visual effects industry evolved through a slow-but-steady rise for several decades, since 2011, there’s been a huge boom in job opportunities and startups that is continuing today, Mott notes. “We’ve been getting some of the biggest work and projects around because our companies are proving we can deliver, on time and on budget,” said Mott. “That’s critically important because it’s a global workforce, where many of these people can do projects anywhere they want – so B.C. needs to build on local talent.” With Amazon Prime, Netflix, Dreamworks Animation and other blockbuster firms accelerating their production of content, the sky seems to be the limit.
The all-day event is happening at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The morning exhibition is aimed at connecting professionals with companies, while the afternoon is connecting students and the public in an open format, giving people a preview of the studios where they might want to work in the future.