Inside publishing apprenticeships
A recent IPG webinar on apprenticeships provided lots of useful information about their practicalities and benefits. Here’s a round-up of the key points.
How apprenticeships work
Marcus Simmons and Celia Kingston of LDN Apprenticeships explained how schemes in England work for employers. The Level 3 Publishing Assistant course lasts 15 months, including a three-month assessment period, and can cover multiple aspects of publishing, including editorial, sales, marketing, publicity, digital, rights, law and production. “We want to give people a well-rounded understanding of publishing… it’s really useful for anyone coming into the sector to understand all the nuts and bolts of the industry,’ Simmons said.
Schemes are run with training providers, and include inductions, online learning, tutorial support, one-to-one coaching sessions, masterclasses and exchanges with other apprentices. In all, 20% of training is off-the-job. There’s a recommended starting salary for apprentices of £15,000, and training costs are £6,000—but businesses with turnover of less than £3m a year will only pay 5% of that: £300. LDN Apprenticeships can help with recruitment and onboarding, and stresses that the schemes aren’t just open to young people—though they’re not suitable for those with prior experience or degrees in publishing.
Apprenticeships in action
Welbeck Publishing’s editorial assistant Millie Acers gave the webinar an apprentice’s view of schemes. She said: “It’s been such a great way to get involved in the industry. I don’t have a degree and was feeling a bit stuck after lockdown, and this has been a way to get my foot in the door and learn a lot in a short space of time.” She was quickly involved in a wide variety of editorial tasks, and got insights into functions in areas like production and rights. “[Apprenticeships] can give you a really holistic view of the industry.”
Welbeck’s editorial director Issy Wilkinson said the programme had benefited her company too. “We’ve always hired in very traditional ways… but we wanted to find someone with a fresh approach and a lot of enthusiasm for an entry-level role,” she said. “We thought it would make us more accessible to people who hadn’t studied publishing, or who hadn’t had the resources to take on a lot of work experience. It’s been a real success story.”
Support from Amazon
Amazon provides help for businesses that want to take on apprentices via the levy transfer service. Nicola Drury, Amazon’s UK apprenticeship lead, said the business could transfer levy funds to SMEs in the creative industries who want to take on apprentices, paid monthly for as long as the apprentice remains in learning. Publishers are free to choose a training provider to support the apprenticeships, which then draws down the money transferred by Amazon.
Drury said: "These programmes bring major benefits to businesses that run them… It’s becoming more and more common and desirable to have apprentices in a team.” Schemes can be particularly useful in getting access a diverse pool of talent, she added. “You’re bringing in someone who is quite green, but also really focused [because] it’s their chosen occupation and what they’re interested in."
More advice
All speakers agreed that apprenticeships work best in an office environment where people can talk face-to-face, though it’s been possible to onboard and guide apprentices remotely in recent months. Programmes also need clear guidelines, and employers should set out expectations from the start. Close and regular communications are essential to success.
If you would like more information about the scheme and how to sign up, please email Marcus Simmons at [email protected]. You can get help setting up an employer account on the apprentice service in this short video. For more about LDN Apprenticeships, click here.