When students gather for esports in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, they aren’t just building the soft skills such as teamwork and creative problem-solving often associated with such programs. They’re also focusing on potential careers. 

“It’s not a game,” Lupe Diaz, executive director of the district’s department of career and technical education, said Thursday at the 2020 Future of Education Technology Conference in Miami. “What we’re doing is taking their hobby of playing games into a career.”

A new pilot program launched by the district at some of its high schools connects esports to career and technical education. Participating students learn about myriad careers tied to esports and other industries, such as marketing and animation. 

Each school offers the program a little differently. Some make it an after-school activity, and others tie IT courses into gaming and simulation, said Cindy Thienard Pierre, the district’s instructional supervisor of marketing and finance, and diversified education.