I am just about to start a vocational course that gives me a level 7 City & Guilds in art & animation in which City & Guilds claim is the equivalence to a Masters Degree. course takes approximately 18-24 months to complete depending on how hard you hit it. The course is backed by a regulatory board based in the UK called TIGA (TIGA is the trade association representing the UK games industry. TIGA has many of the UK’s most successful games development studios amongst its members. TIGA also has outsourcing companies, technology businesses and universities as members. TIGA support Train2Game by advising on course content, structuring examinations and assessments through the TIGA Examinations Committee and awarding TIGA Diplomas to individuals who successfully pass Train2Game courses). Train2game seem to have recently really pushed its marketing strategy by employing sales people to follow up any leads/enquiries although in my opinion is a bad move as it is attracting some negative press with reports of pushy sales people making potential students feel uncomfortable resulting in all the bad press that is found on google searches and some youtube videos. That aside given the research I have conducted I have decided to go ahead and join up. It is going to cost me £31 a week but for that I get the full Autodesk Creative Entertainment Suite (Mudbox, Maya & 3ds max) on licence for 3 years with the edition of Adobe’s Photoshop, and I will have 44 assignments to complete within the 2 year period before I get the Diploma. I am not entirely sure how well recognised qualification is Internationally but it is for sure well received here in the UK. From my research I have come across numerous studios who quote that they prefer employing TIGA accredited students rather than University/college students due to the fact that the TIGA accredited students are on average more role specific and have a better quality portfolio along with Game Jam experience (Game Jam UK 2014 broke the Guinness world record for making the most games within a specific timeframe). Anyhow I am just writing post to see if anyone else is familiar with what I have just mentioned as I have given the forum a quick search to no avail. Maybe what I really want to know is if Epic recognise qualification, and if they did, and if I or someone likeminded happen to build up a strong portfolio and show a certain talent in their respected field would Epic then be interested in employing them. If anyone who may or may not lol read has a question for me I will try my best to answer you but to be honest I don’t really like writing all that much, I generally use these forums to troubleshoot. V
It sounds as if it is worthwhile just to get the cheap access to the software. 
I can’t comment on whether Epic value the qualification. I’m guessing that it shows you want to code, which is good. However, one of the problems with coding courses is that they must be planned out in advance. means that the software you learn is several years out-of-date, by the time you finish. I’m sure they will be along to comment, but my guess is that they will also want to see what you can create: Mods, games, etc.
You should build up a portfolio of stuff. From my own time in the software industry, employers care more about experience and what you can show in your GitHub account.
I’m not saying your course is a waste of time, far from it, but be aware that to increase your chances of employment in the industry, you should show what you can do with what you have learned, rather than just depending on a good exam result.
I’ve had dealings with Train2Game from time to time. They’re typically at a fair amount of trade shows here in the , most notably Develop in Brighton. There’s nothing wrong with their courses, they’re top-notch and from what I’ve seen, are far from ‘outdated’.
The pricing structure offered is modest and accessible for most, which is a benefit for many. Especially when it comes with access to industry standard tools, at no additional cost. You simply have to stay focused, which is the downside for many courses in area. It’s much harder to stay focused when you’re studying around work and the like. It can be a bit taxing on the mind. Just be sure not to get burnt out and rush through the modules / assignments.
As you’ve already noted, they’re backed by TIGA and at the end you’ll receive a diploma. This’ll be recognized as more than acceptable by UK-based studios. Especially if you have a decent portfolio to go along with it. Similarly, I don’t see why these wouldn’t be taken into consideration on an international basis.
Lastly, I’ve seen studios hire those with no game industry specific qualifications. Even Epic Games. They’ve taken on people from the modding community on numerous occasions over the years - some of whom have popped up on recent Twitch streams. If you have a proven track record, through shipping independent games or creating modifications (and even maps / levels), it’ll work wonders 
Yeah, sorry, I should have pointed out that I was talking about coding courses in general, not particular one.
So I cannot speak for our hiring department, but I can give you a few notes. First, where your education comes from matters very little, the things that matter much more are that you are knowledgeable in the field you specialize in, willing to learn/change and adapt quickly.
Your portfolio is more important than your degree, but what you learn will help you achieve a better portfolio. So there is nothing wrong at all with getting formal training. I went to a Simulation and Game Design program, but never finished and got hired out of school. I already had some industry experience, so that helped a lot too. Also important, a lot of my teachers helped me establish industry contacts.
It all sort of depends on what department you want to go into as well. Most of our programmers have masters in programming, math, computer sciences or something like that instead of a game design degree. Same with our artists, some have more classical art training that they then apply to games, while others have pure game art backgrounds.
I hope helps.
Most likely it won’t mean anything as far as a diploma goes–at least in the U.S. since it doesn’t give you the core classes that universities do.
But that’s not really a problem if you learn a lot from the course. It’s way more useful to actually get skills and build up a portfolio than it is to have a diploma so if the classes look good to you and they have a history of people being able to get jobs after finishing the course then it sounds good. Compare costs to other schools to see if it’s reasonable, £31 a week would be really good.
By the way, you can get educational licenses for Autodesk software for free if you’re a student in any school.
http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128152&highlight=TRAIN2GAME
http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126987&highlight=TRAIN2GAME
http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=85355&highlight=TRAIN2GAME
I would take the information contained within the links provided by Hughsey with a grain of salt, personally. There’s going to be problems and issues that people will complain about with any course, that any school offers. Typically, because it isn’t what they were expecting in the first place or they didn’t read / get the correct information before enrolling. Sadly, these are then cherry-picked every time a discussion thread about the particular course / school arises.
Plus, anyone who says that TIGA is ‘pointless’ or ‘useless’, just doesn’t know what they’re talking about. They’ve been a fundamental part of the video game industry within the . They’ve been an integral role in campaigning for tax breaks from the government and supporting women within the industry, among other things. Not to mention the benefits which they provide to members.
I’m always amazed by those who think these courses will turn you into an overnight success. They won’t. If you don’t have the will and the drive, they aren’t going to make a difference. However, if you do the research? You’ll find numerous cases of those who’ve completed the course(s) and are now working within the industry.
Edit: In response to the original poster on the topic of Game Jam and Epic Games. I recall, Epic previously supported/sponsored a couple of the Game Jam sessions for Train2Game, whereby they used UDK.
I would say though-£31 a week is extremely low, that’s only a couple thousand dollars a year, it’s hard to believe that training that cheap is going to be worthwhile, when you compare to other courses. Usually a trade school is going to be more expensive than a regular university because they don’t get much financial aid from the government.
Not a problem my friend, input is input and is valued all the same, they do courses for all the specializations. I’m learning C++ in my spare time just to gain a broader understanding, not that I fancy myself as a coder, certainly not my bag, I give much respect to the wizardry they perform. Thank you
What sold it for me is the software access and building my portfolio with having little money at the moment and being currently unemployed, so I will exchange Maya LT for the extra programs, the guy who had been advising on the course suggested that I should discard my UE4 subscription as he felt that I would not need it whilst on the course, shows what he knows, to hell with that Idea UE4 is my base of operations to which all assets I create will be directed. And at a measly what £13 or £14 a month I would be out of mind to give up something that has taught me so much already and inspire me to further myself. I must say the way the course is structured does give an artist little reason to fail at creating a really good portfolio and pretty much covers the current needs of most studios I would Imagine at current anyhow. Thank you for your responses much appreciated
ive payed over £4k to them, 100% not worth, i learnt more doing stuff my self, dude trust me dont.
I should adjust some of the information I have provided, as it is I mentioned that the course costs £31 a week which is true but the complete course is just short of £5000 in total paid over 4 years interest free and funded in-house by TRAIN2GAME for high risk students who are currently unemployed, if an applicant is in employment the course is funded differently and I’m not entirely sure how, so I will not speculate on the matter. Another thing to mention the software that is provided will be the of the latest versions but the student wont have complete access until after the first couple of initial assignments as and when the software is need. Just wanted to clear up as it is something I had overlooked and felt was a little vague and to a lesser extent misleading in my original post. And to add, particular entity is government backed here in the UK and has funding backed by Microsoft also. From my dealings with them thus far there certainly seems a push to educate, fund and help employ potential students here in the UK and keep them employed here, what with the recent tax breaks the industry has started receiving here and the boom in the amount of indie start-ups and also more recognised successful studious expanding to these shores all seems very promising for everybody involved. Thank you for all you responses/opinions
Can you please elaborate more, as just saying, “dude trust me don’t” really doesn’t tick any boxes for me. But I’m all ears or should I say eyes, no matter. for instance (1) have you built up a portfolio yet. (2) have you received that certification and (3) Do you feel the level of the quality of communications between the tutor and yourself is the root cause. If you could help further I would appreciate it greatly. Thank you for your input.