Royal Navy gets creative in attracting engineers - develop online game
Engineering is not what it used to be. There used to be only 10 or so basic engineering degrees one could graduate with. Now there are hundreds (some even argue it's triple that) of specialties. Most are in demand all over the world. The technology revolution is moving at a rapid pace and the competition for talent is becoming difficult for some organizations. That problem is significant for the Royal Navy. Students also have the different options other than traditional engineering fields -- such as software programming, computer sciences and communications engineering -- that offer competitive compensation. There's only so much time a recruiter can spend with a potential candidate in person and television commercials are only 30 seconds long. The Navy has special needs and is willing to train qualified people to become experts in several different specialties of engineering. They needed a way to seek out people that were considering any one of those options.
The Navy needs young people that must cope in some of the most extreme conditions ever contemplated. You could be stationed anywhere in the world, submerged for MONTHS in a nuclear submarine and rarely see daylight or be commander of a propulsion system of any number of different surface vessels in the fleet. The stereotype that comes to mind is a young video gamer that never leaves the basement to play his or her favorite multi-player online combat game.
That maybe a bit of a stretch, but they do share a lot in common. The Navy needs imaginative and creative engineers that love high tech. Getting information about possible careers has certainly evolved. No longer is it just the classifieds, or campus recruiters; today there's iPhones with social tools like Facebook. Government sites have embraced such applications and technology. And the Navy is reaching out to find the talent it needs hopefully finding them with these services and tools.
To accomplish this task, it built a game that hopefully attracts talent to consider a career in the Royal Navy as a Engineer Officer. Maxine Brown, Senior Interactive Services Manager (Central Office of Information) stated in a press release;
The Facebook widget replicates the iPhone app by allowing users to get the feel for a virtual, hands -on, engineering experience, as well as enabling people to share it with friends and start a discussion.
Maxine Brown, Senior Interactive Services Manager further stated;
"The interactive challenge is a great tool to illustrate to the younger generation how exciting and rewarding a Royal Navy Engineer Officer career can be"
The game and Facebook links are now posted on the Official Royal Navy Website.