New publishing industry National Occupational Standards launched

Creative Skillset have recently completed a large project that has completely revised the National Occupational Standards for Publishing. The aim was to update the standards for books to incorporate contemporary digital practice and journals.

After sending out feelers throughout the industry, Creative Skillset were overwhelmed by the response. They established a large steering group for the project: 27 members representing key trade bodies, large and small employers, membership bodies and other interested parties. The group met four times over six months, then held seven focus groups, marshalling the experience of nearly 60 professionals. Another 120 people who couldn’t make the meetings sent in their thoughts and opinions for consideration. This was one project that everyone wanted to be a part of!

As a result, they were able to draft descriptions of departments and job titles and have successfully managed to create profiles for most of the positions held in this ever-growing industry.

The standards have been approved by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

Book and Journal Publishing National Occupational Standards is a free resource available in the UK. It can be accessed via the Creative Skillset website.