The First Inter-Industry Effort to Organize Professional Development Across Educational Publishing

Educational publishing executives face the unique challenge of understanding the ins and outs of two disparate industries. Being a part of the education sector means keeping on top funding, research, and federal, state, and local legislation. Being a publisher requires extensive knowledge of the entire product development process, including content creation, editing, design, and marketing, in addition to the everyday challenges of running a business.

The reality is, however, most educational publishing professionals did not specifically choose--or train--to enter this industry, because there is no degree program or clear path to obtaining the necessary skill set. Thus, recruitment is difficult, and more importantly, training employees to succeed at the next level is problematic. While various organizations offer professional development in narrow areas, they don't connect the dots.

AEP, AAP, and SIIA want to meet this need by creating a cohesive continuing education program for educational publishing. Led by Nelson Heller, President of The Heller Reports, these three organizations have come together to form the Educational Publishing Inter-Industry Council (EPIC), an organized, industry-wide initiative to pursue meaningful professional development in educational publishing.

For more information on EPIC or if you are interested in joining the Council, please contact Laura Rotter.