|
|
|
 |
Archives |
New Course Aims to Recruit, Retain Talent in Ed PublishingIn today's fast-changing business environment, many sectors struggle to find the time, talent and resources to cultivate young talent. Like other industries, educational publishing, with its consolidation through mergers and on-going restructuring of middle management to reduce overhead, has seen it's "bench strength" diminish. This talent gap is occurring precisely at a time when the educational publishing sector needs new blood most. Retirement of industry leaders, changing state and federal regulations that impact buying decisions, new research on how kids learn, and technological advances that offer a host of curriculum delivery systems make this an exciting and challenging time to enter the business. For smart talent looking to make their mark on American education through publishing, the opportunities to shape the future of an industry couldn’t be better. To this end, NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS) and AEP have developed "A Survey of Textbook and Supplemental Educational Materials Publishing for the El-Hi Markets," a one-day primer for employees new or starting in the field or those thinking about a career in school publishing. "There are a lot of young people with idealism and vision looking to make a difference in the lives of kids, but may not be cut out to be teachers. But they might make their mark in educational publishing," says Leanna Landsmann, one of the course's moderators, a nationally recognized education writer and editor, and former president of TIME for Kids. Landsmann's co-moderator, Robert Baensch, is Director of the Center for Publishing at NYU and a 30-year veteran of the publishing industry. He sees the new joint venture as an answer to a growing need. "There are hundreds of publishing conferences and seminars offered each year, but these often cater to middle and top management," he said. "There's little out there for those that are new on the job or looking to enter this specific sector of the industry." The AEP/NYU seminar is designed to provide a snapshot of the school publishing industry, beginning with "The Big Picture," presented by former Pearson CEO Peter Jovanovich. Following sessions touch on product development, the role of research, editorial workflow, marketing, sales, human resources, and financial management. Speakers will tackle issues and problems unique to publishing for the school market, such as the impact of state and federal laws on what and how products are published, selling to purchasers who are not the ultimate users, tracking adoption cycles, and keeping on top of technologies that will change how curriculum is delivered. Why should a manager send their top young talent to this course? "Say you’ve got a promising up and coming editor. To grow, you want that editor to understand all aspects of the business," says Landsmann. "But there's little opportunity during the work day to learn about marketing, sales, research, pricing, cash flow. This course is designed to give people in each function a snapshot of the other functions that combined, make for successful publishing. It is designed to encourage those star employees to learn all aspects so that they will one day be effective company leaders. So raise your hand, ask your boss to send you!" Why should an employee in a publishing company or someone new to publishing take this one-day course? "This day at NYU is a step toward a larger goal - to bring top talent into our field to ensure the next great generation of leadership," says Charlene Gaynor, AEP’s CEO. "Educational publishing is one of publishing’s most dynamic sectors. Those who come to this one-day session will not only learn about how successful publishing is done today, we expect that they will play a role in its future."
Questions, ideas, or in need of more information? Please contact Stacey Pusey at 302-295-8349. |
Visit NYU's online course catalog to view the course description or register.
|
|
© 2011 The Association of Educational
Publishers |
||
