Skillscraft

Skillscraft was developed as part of the response to the Career Review’s recommendation that enhanced digital services and online tools be developed that present information about the world of work innovatively, cost-effectively and in ways that truly engage young people.

Minecraft is a known, creative and fun platform for young people and SDS has already successfully used this platform to engage this audience through My World of Work Live, as have career organisations in many other countries.

Gamified learning is a recognised and valued part of many curricula and this game will be a purposeful classroom activity which meets CfE experiences and outcomes in Health and Wellbeing; Planning for Choices and Changes, and builds important meta-skills.

Please follow the steps below to access Skillscraft:

1) Check if your school has a licence to use Minecraft Education. If not, you can visit the Microsoft Education Licensing page to learn more about license costs.

2) Check each device which will be using Skillscraft has the Minecraft Education app installed, if not please download the app.

3) You can download the Skillscraft world as a zip file or download using Dropbox from the Minecraft Education website to each device which will be accessing the game. Some schools may assign multiple pupils to a device to play in a team (recommended three pupils max per team)

4) Review the lesson plans and video guides above to help run your session.

Please note: schools that want to use Skillscraft will need a Minecraft Education licence and the Minecraft Education app installed. Check with your school's IT department or the person responsible for IT to see if you have access to a Minecraft Education license or if you have any questions about installing the app on devices. 

Some Scottish local authorities have authority wide licences, meaning all schools have the possibility to access.

Visit the Microsoft Education Licensing page to learn more about license costs.

All schools, whether they have a licence or not, can also request a My World of Work Live Skillscraft session to be delivered at their school by their regional My World of Work Live adviser. Please register your interest by emailing live@sds.co.uk

We’re also running a national Skillscraft competition, where schools across Scotland can submit entries from their teams, with the winners receiving vouchers for their team members and their creation incorporated into our Skillscraft world.

There are three competition briefs to choose from, these are the build challenges which correspond to the different sectors and minigames:

• Space Technology – design and build the first moon colony.
• Sustainable Construction – create a sustainable resort and tourist destination.
• Renewable Energy – power a music festival using renewable energy.

Each school can submit up to three entries, one per year group is recommended but this is not mandatory.

Each entry should be a short YouTube video submission, which must be three minutes or less.

Entries must be submitted to minecraft@sds.co.uk by 24 May 2024. The winners will be announced on 21 June 2024.

Learn more in the full competition brief.

Prizes and winners: 

There will be two main prize winners, one primary school team and one secondary school team. Main prize winners will receive:

• their build added to our Minecraft world
• a trophy for their school
• £50 voucher for each team member (three members max per team)

There will be six runners up teams, one primary team and one secondary team for each sector. Runners up will receive:

• a trophy for their school
• £20 voucher for each team member (three members max per team)

Working with a leading Minecraft education agency and teachers, we’ve created a suite of resources for teachers that will assist the delivery of Skillscraft. 

The resources include:

• An Introduction slide pack that can be used to introduce the project to young people.
• Lesson plan for each of the minigames and associated sectors, which covers the Learning Intentions, Curriculum Objectives, meta-skills and useful links.
• A Competition Brief, outlining how the competition works, the mission, the brief for each build challenge, judging criteria, how to enter and the prizes.
• Certificate that you can put your signature to and award to pupils that have participated in the project.

These teaching resources are available below.