UK using video games as recruitment tool for the GCHQ

[Tollbooth Willie]

http://www.recruiter.co.uk/news/computer-games-used-as-gchq-recruitment-agents/335449.article

Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the UK intelligence and security organisation, is reporting significantly increased traffic to its careers website following placement of virtual billboard ads in a number of computer games in a bid to attract top IT talent.

Kate Clemens, head of GCHQ's digital strategy at recruitment and communications agency TMP Worldwide, which came up with the idea, told Recruiter: "The campaign is running for a month, but the response so far to the landing page has been good."

Working with TMP and Massive, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft which has created the network for dynamic in-game advertising, GCHQ feeds ads into the games via the internet. Players click on the www.gchq-careers.co.uk weblink on the billboard, which takes them to the GCHQ careers site at www.careersinbritishintelligence.co.uk. Games being used for the trial exercise include those featuring intelligence and counter- terrorism plots such as Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent and Rainbow Six Vegas, as well as the big-selling street racing title, Need for Speed: Carbon.

A GCHQ spokesperson told Recruiter that while it only represents a small part of its recruitment marketing at the moment, it is keen to explore other non-traditional ideas for attracting people. "A case could be made for it appealing more to males, so we want to look at other ideas to broaden the appeal to the market."

Because of the content of some of the games, GCHQ is aware that the campaign could promote a James Bond-style image of working at the organisation and so it needs to manage potential candidates' expectations carefully. "Our business is signals intelligence and information assurance, not human intelligence," said the spokesperson. "These are deskbound jobs and work which is vital to the UK's national security."

 

[VirusType2]

Back in my day son, games just had anarchy symbols everywhere.