Tech talent in need as electronic gaming trend persists

Gaming technology service suppliers have foreseen a continuous growth in the demand for electronic gaming devices. With the Macau government’s growth cap on gambling tables coming into force while new casinos are set to open up, some suggest that such a trend is more visible, and consequently local talent in technology innovation and maintenance will be in needed along the way.
“I think there’s a big shortage of technical minded people in Macau in this industry that are qualified to repair and maintain the gaming equipment here as we grow,” Mr Geoffrey McDowell, managing director of Suzo Happ APA, told the Times.
“Obviously this year with table caps and more machines – even the table games there’s more hybrid games and electronic tables – I think a lot of the operators are looking to streamline their business and use technology to help them do so. With that, there’s a requirement to have more technical people to look after them both at the casino and from a maintenance perspective back in the workshop,” he explained.
The executive said it’s “still very early days” for Macau in terms of electric gaming but it has a great growth potential. Accordingly, at this stage, there isn’t a gap in technician manpower.
“But if you were to add another fifty percent of the devices to Macau, then there is a shortage,” he added. “With the growth of four or five more properties opening, with the same amount of slot machines as in the previous properties that opened, it puts a big strain on the ability to maintain those, if we don’t have a facility and don’t have people that are trained locally to work with the concessionaires and the manufacturers.”
A division of the Suzo Happ Asia Pacific and Australia Group, Transcity Asia, jointly set up an educational laboratory at the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM)’s Gaming Teaching and Research Centre this week.
Mr McDowell explained that the move was “a giant step” by the company in investing in research and development of new technology and innovative products, whilst nurturing local skilled talent by providing students with hands-on learning experience through practical projects.
“Involving the students, training more technical people in Macau, I think it’s great for the industry overall,” he said.
The IPM vice president Ms Yin Lei also acknowledged at the inauguration that establishing the new lab is a further step to match the university’s gaming-related teaching with market needs.
“The gaming industry in Macau is undergoing adjustment and consolidation. More than ever we need to seize every opportunity to enhance our competitiveness through learning professional knowledge as well as upgrading our technical skills and service quality,” she stated.
According to Mr Yin, the lab will also promote industry-research collaboration where the faculty members can jointly conduct applied research with Transcity Asia experts in technology innovation, product development, manufacturing and maintenance.