QA Engineer is one of the most sought–after specializations in the game development industry. G5 Games alone, a Swedish mobile game developer and publisher, employs more than a hundred such specialists: they test game products and services, look for bugs and help improve the gaming experience of users.

Therefore, attracting talented professionals is one of the most important tasks of any gaming company. And G5 Games has been working in this direction for a long time. The company has its own QA University, which is an educational program developed by employees. In the three years of its existence, several thousand people have passed it, and G5 has offered the best of them a team job.

The company decided not to stop there and went further, deciding to expand the target audience. If students and young people can master the profession of a tester, then why can't older people with rich life and professional experience? So G5 decided to launch a pilot project, which was attended by parents and older relatives of employees. For several weeks, the project participants studied the new profession of QA Engineer, and at the end they could be selected for a tester position in the company.

People in this age group are often in a vulnerable position. On the one hand, after retirement or job loss, they lose their usual income and social ties, and feel professionally unclaimed. On the other hand, they have free time and a desire to continue to benefit society. The combination of these two factors makes representatives of the older generation ideal candidates for the job - they are responsible, motivated and ready to learn new things. 

"This project is an unconventional and creative way to find new employees. Its special advantage is that candidates who have already completed their main career decided to participate themselves, demonstrating sincere interest and high motivation," shared QA Director Maria.

130 people applied for participation in the project, all of them relatives and friends of the company's employees. Most of them are between 50 and 55 years old. The oldest representatives, who are already over 70 years old, were among the participants. 

Age of the project participants

Among all those who applied for the program, more than half have a technical education, but, as practice has shown, this is not a prerequisite at all. Among the candidates who reached the finals were both those who worked in the IT field and those who had never encountered IT topics before. 

Availability of technical education

For several weeks, the participants independently studied lectures from leading G5 engineers on the basics of testing and QA, completed assignments and passed self-test tests.

At G5, they constantly kept their finger on the pulse and controlled the process – they maintained communication and answered questions.

During the project, 44 people completed the course and reached the final selection for the Junior QA Engineer position. Recruiters and QA department specialists selected the best candidates among them and invited them to be interviewed. As a result of the project, two candidates joined the G5 team and assumed new responsibilities.

The participants themselves reacted with great interest to the suggestion of their loved ones to take part in the program and try their hand at something new. 

"When I was told about this opportunity, I thought, why not: I completed training, tests, interviews and was selected. Maybe the fact that I have a specialized education helped – I graduated from Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute in '85. He has worked in various fields throughout his life. Most of them are in the automation of banking production. But I've always been on the other side of development – I've worked more with hardware. Therefore, I had to learn and explore a lot of new things, ranging from terminology to working with specific mobile devices for which games are created. It was interesting!" said Stanislav, who joined the G5 team as a Game QA Engineer.

Another of the project participants, Alexander, had never encountered IT before, but also decided to try his hand at the project on the recommendation of his son.  

"I learned about the project from my son, who works at G5, and decided to give it a try. At first, it was difficult to get into the learning process, pick up a notebook and pen and feel like a student again. Already about halfway through the course, when I saw what was happening, I got excited and realized that I could do it. Now I can say that I feel comfortable, I can ask my colleagues any question and get the right answer. I have a training plan, according to which I am moving towards the goal of learning a new profession and being ready to work in new projects."

Program participants and G5 staff share their feedback

This project not only gave hope to older people, helped them feel needed and in demand, but also strengthened family ties and corporate spirit, because all the participants in the project are close and relatives of the company's employees. This is especially important now, when many people find themselves at a distance from each other and do not have the opportunity to see each other as often as before. 

"As a company, it is important for us to create initiatives that not only benefit business, but also have a positive impact on society. We believe that age is not a barrier, but an opportunity for a new start, and we are proud that we were able to open the doors to a new profession for the project participants, emphasizing their willingness to start a new career path," Tatiana, HR People Partner Team Lead. 

It's possible to join gamedev at any age! This path is within the power of anyone who wants to learn a new profession, who is ready to learn and develop. The company received a great response from employees and an offer to conduct a similar program not only for parents and grandparents, but also for other family members who might be out of work during difficult times.