School esports clubs and esport careers for students – teaching resources

Many students enjoy video games – which can lead to rewarding qualifications and careers. These teaching resources can aid you in helping your students explore transferrable gaming skills and the career possibilities in esports.

The benefits of esports to students and schools

Building inclusive communities

Esports in schools gives students who don’t feel connected a place to meet and network with both pupils and staff members with common interests. Students in esports clubs may not be interested in physical sports or joining other clubs, but they have plenty of aptitude and curiosity to learn and progress. Education can be both rigorous and enjoyable – and a BTEC in esports is one way to address that balance.

Developing key employability skills

Esports in schools can give students a safe and supportive environment to grow key Young Professional skills which are highly conducive to employability including communication, organisation, teamwork, resilience, leadership and problem solving. The student who’d never put their hand up in class can suddenly gain the confidence in a safe environment to become a successful team captain. Recognising and growing these ‘soft’ employability skills can make a huge difference to any student’s personal development and ensuing career confidence.

Futurproofing digital careers

Esports prepares students with futureproofed digital skills. This is very useful for future general employability – and it’s worth noting that the esports industry itself continues to grow at pace, with a wide variety of career roles on offer – from shoutcasting to web development, PR and events management.

Case study: Alva Academy

As a case study, Alva Academy in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, describes itself as a very small academy from the smallest authority in Britain. Their increased visibility and outreach as a renowned place of education through association with esports education was almost instant. They’ve been asked to play show matches with the British Army, and have experienced many opportunities to help students broaden their horizons, too.

Vocational qualifications with the BTEC in Esports

The British Esports Association has partnered with global learning company Pearson to create the world’s first BTEC for a career in esports. Institutions in the UK and around the world began offering these new qualifications to students from September 2020, with funding confirmed in the UK from the Education and Skills Funding Agency. Click here to see which schools and colleges are currently approved to run BTECs in Esports in the UK – and perhaps your own insitution could one day be on there too, if it isn’t already.

Find out more here, and watch the video below:

Transferable skills and job roles – British Esports Association

As the local and global esports industry continues to grow, directly related jobs and career pathways are being created, creating a demand for young professionals with specific skillsets.

The BEA and Pearson have collaborated to create a useful visual map of esports skills and career pathways.

Microsoft Esports Teacher Academy (META)

You can bring competitive gaming into the classroom with the Microsoft Esports Teacher Academy.

META is a four-part series that lasts just under two and a half hours, and it’s designed to help K12 educators better understand the role of esports in education and career pathways. You’ll explore how to integrate esports in educational settings, and how to build a thriving esports program in your school through immersive exploration of Minecraft: Education Edition.

After completing this learning path, you will be able to:

• Describe the role and benefits of esports in education
• Explain how to establish an esports club in your learning community
• Articulate how to utilize Minecraft: Education Edition in esports
• Build a Minecraft Esports tournament to support skill development and social impact

Although there are no prerequisites for this learning path, a basic understanding of Minecraft and game play is helpful.