BookBrunch | Training and skill drain: affecting productivity in publishing

bbtwitter_400x400Having heard some pretty serious stats about training given to newbie publishers lately, I felt inspired to write a piece about the Autumn Statement, productivity, and the shift in attitude towards training and skill-building support that needs to happen in publishing. The full article is also FREE to read over on BookBrunch. Here’s a snippet:

Training and skill drain: affecting productivity in publishing

Research shows that publishers are failing to invest in the skills they need

In his Autumn Statement last week, Chancellor Philip Hammond brought attention to Britain’s sub-par productivity. Our output per unit of input lags 30% behind other economies such as the US and Germany: in the time it takes a German worker to make £1.35, a British worker will make only £1.

Hammond’s remedy involves a £23bn National Productivity Investment Fund, which will be used for the most part to invest in infrastructure such as roads and affordable housing. However, fixing productivity involves more than this kind of investment. As Katie Allen pointed out in the Guardian over the weekend, “when it comes to appearing to be doing something about the productivity puzzle it is far easier to talk about roads than the thorny issue of Britain’s addiction to low-paid, low-skilled work”. This is an issue that comes down to attitude.

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Bookmachine | Coder Generation: Building digital skills doesn’t have to be scary

BookMachine_logoI am very pleased to announce with this fortnight’s article, that my BookMachine posts, and BookMachine itself, are now sponsored by none other than Getty Images!  This is a really exciting development and I couldn’t be prouder to be working with such a creative and forward-thinking company.

As for the article, this week its all about coding and how to futureproof your skill set. You can read the whole post right here on the BookMachine blog, but here’s a little taster to get you started:

The digital revolution might seem like a challenge to us now, but there’s a whole new generation of digital natives that will be coming into the jobs market over the next decade, for whom coding, apps and mobile technology are as natural as breathing.

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