A great experience for everyone
Members of the Roll7 team were delighted to welcome young adults with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) into the London office for a week of hands-on work experience. This was part of the DIVERSO scheme headed by Talentino - a group which aims to “enable all young people, regardless of their additional needs, to achieve optimum career outcomes.”
The Diversity and Inclusion Committee here at Roll7, alongside our wonderful HR department and members of the dev team, worked to ensure that the week included plenty of opportunity, education, and fun for the young people we had the pleasure of welcoming into our studio.
"Some of us have disabilities of our own, and so this was a great chance to pass on our insight in that regard"
The whole team were able to partake in an initial zoom masterclass where we learned more about Talentino and about the challenges young people with SEND who are seeking work or work placements face.
It was then time to organise a schedule. We had an initial visit where several students were able to come into the office and hear a bit about our work and what we do - they also got a chance to play some of our games and to chat to members of the team.
Then it was time for two students to do a week-long placement. We ran short days over a period of time, so that the students were able to get the most out of the experience with plenty of time to travel to and from the office and to take breaks. While we are a remote studio, the placement did take place in-office to ensure we could provide the necessary equipment. Some Roll7 folks did Zoom in to deliver presentations, but others came into the office to offer a range of insight into departments from QA, to HR, to Design, and more.
"Delighted to welcome young adults with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)"
The experience was something that the Roll7 team all really enjoyed a chance to get involved with. Some of us have disabilities of our own, and so this was a great chance to pass on our insight in that regard - and everyone here is passionate about games and the games industry, so we also all enjoyed a chance to talk about that and to share our knowledge!
We would of course like to say a huge thank you to everyone at Talentino and to the parents and teachers of the students who visited - but most importantly, we want to say a huge thank you to all the students who took part. We really hope you had as much fun as we did! It was wonderful to have you all in the office, and we hope to continue doing work like this in the future.
