Several months ago, University Business profiled a higher education recruiting platform from South Carolina called Tallo, which helps students and young professionals create profiles and showcase their talents to get noticed by colleges and employers.
Tallo’s site and app boast more than 1.5 million users, who are openly positioning their skills so recruiters can see their ‘rÁ©sumÁ©s’ and connect with them. Comparisons have been made to LinkedIn or Rivals.com for the 13-and-over age group.
So, it became almost a natural that Tallo get connected with one of the rising forces in scholastic development and a powerful industry that drives young career-pathway seekers: esports.
On Thursday, Tallo announced a partnership with the North America Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF) that will create what it calls “the largest virtual network of young esports talent and the higher education institutions and employers looking to recruit them.”
NASEF, which has made big splashes in recent months with announcements of collaborative agreements with the High School Esports League, Middle School Esports League and the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), has more than 1,500 clubs that foster both video game competitions and the academic components surrounding them. It has the only state-credentialed curriculum among all of the academic esports organizations. For scholastic gamers, that means more of a heavy focus on those skillsets that are less about winning and more about best routes to potential careers—as web designers, graphic artists, storytellers, marketing managers and business leaders.
“NASEF’s goal has always been to leverage student interest in esports to help prepare them for STEM and STEAM career pathways. This partnership with Tallo will give students a mechanism to showcase their strengths as strategists, content creators, entrepreneurs, organizers—and as high-caliber competitors in a team environment,” said Gerald Solomon, founder and executive director of NASEF.
Tallo already serves some 27,000 high schools and 4,500 higher education institutions. But this expands into a relatively untapped and growing area in a more cohesive way.
The main benefit for students is the ability to be able to personalize profiles and display their achievements on Tallo in a professional manner. Tallo officials say they will be able to post digital badges from NASEF’s competitions so college esports leaders and even those from professional organizations can see their skills. In addition, those profiles can contain other areas of expertise and talents; for example, shoutcasting skills for those who call the events or design work that can accompany those profiles.
For more information on either organization, go to www.tallo.com or NASEF.org or check out Tallo on Instagram or Twitter at @apptallo.
