First Publishing Assistant Apprentices complete training
The trailblazers of the Publishing Assistant Apprenticeship have now completed their training with 60% achieving distinctions. 14 of the 15 of apprentices who have graduated from the programme will continue to work in publishing and have secured jobs in the industry.
Simon Bozzoli, CEO of LDN Apprenticeships, said:
“We are very proud of our first group of publishing apprentices. Their results are a testament to their hard work and the grit and determination they have shown during a very challenging 18 months.
“Our aim is to make the Publishing Assistant Apprenticeship the best entry level training programme for people new to the industry. We are excited to be scaling up this incredible apprenticeship and we look forward to working with many more publishing employers of all sizes to introduce a diverse group of future leaders to the publishing industry.”
Ruth Howells, Deputy Director of External Affairs at the Publishers Association, commented:
“Huge congratulations to our first cohort of apprentices. We have enjoyed hearing about your experiences and wish you all the best in your publishing careers.
“The Publishing Assistant Apprenticeship has been a success and achieved our principle aim of creating another path into the industry. We encourage publishers to consider recruiting apprentices. Please do get in touch with us or LDN Apprenticeships if you have any questions.”
Nilanee Nehrujee, Publishing Apprentice at British Medical Journal:
“My apprenticeship journey has been life changing for me in both career and personal development. It allowed me to gain self confidence in myself as well expose me to the industry’s movements and challenges and how to tackle them.
“I am grateful to have been provided the opportunity to grow and make a difference in the publishing industry with strong reinforcement of diversity and inclusion as well as publication ethics. The best thing that happened in my life so far!”
Cameron Briggs, Publishing Apprentice at Oxford University Press:
“My time on the Publishing Assistant apprenticeship has been brilliant for improving my industry knowledge and my confidence as an editor. The supportive coaches and staff at LDN as well as the inspiring group of people in the cohort gave me the confidence and drive to strive for excellence in my work.
“It’s thanks to this support that I was able to secure a new editorial role in educational publishing during the apprenticeship (mid-pandemic) and also pass my apprenticeship with distinction. It has helped me massively in navigating the start of my career in publishing and in seeing the big picture of the industry.
“The knowledge and skills you learn are great, but the true value is in the network of supportive, like-minded people who are always pushing each other on. I feel I have built a strong network that will continue to support me through my future career. Overall, I’ve had a great experience being an apprentice.”
Laurence Koster, Commissioning Editor at Cambridge University Press:
“Recruiting an Apprentice into our team was an exciting and completely new experience for us. We were lucky enough to find a candidate, Emma, who has a lot of enthusiasm and is always ready to learn more about what we do here, and also bring new perspectives.
“Emma has a really keen eye for detail that’s pivotal to an editor role, a keenness to get stuck in, even to the most daunting tasks, and plenty of creativity too. The impact on the team has been clear to see, with colleagues increasingly more confident about giving Emma responsibility for an array of tasks. It was always clear that Emma would become a permanent member of the organisation – she’s gained so much experience and contributed so much already, that we certainly wouldn’t want to lose her.
“It’s all the more remarkable that so much could be achieved despite the uniquely challenging circumstances of 2020/21. I would recommend the Publishing Apprenticeship programme to other publishing organisations and managers without hesitation.”
Joanne Murphy, Head of Production at Bloomsbury:
“It was a huge boon to my production team to have 2 LDN Publishing Apprentices on-board for 15 months. It enabled us to work through a number of projects that we would not have been able to complete otherwise which had a direct and positive impact on our output, title availability and ultimately sales.
“Most of all their energy, drive and enthusiasm proved to be a real morale boost for the whole team who really enjoyed working alongside them. I was delighted to be able to offer them permanent positions in the team at the end of the apprenticeship and they continue to be huge assets; not least because the apprenticeship has taught them so much about all areas of publishing and so many skills that they are a valuable resource for their colleagues and a great aid in helping guide new starters and introduce them to the business. The Publishing Assistant Apprenticeship Standard Curriculum is designed to be the perfect introduction to publishing with the content of the course authored by leading industry figures.”
LDN Apprenticeships has adapted the programme to be deliverable online which ensured that they could continue to train the apprentices despite the challenges of the past 12 months and take on new apprentices.
The online delivery model consists of online, on-demand content, allowing the learner to progress at their own pace. This is complemented by monthly live sessions (also online), led by the Publishing Skills Coach and quarterly Masterclasses allowing for a deeper dive into particular topics.
You can watch our recent London International Book Fair event on the Publishing Assistant Apprenticeship here: