Publishing in the Knowledge Economy - DTI Home Page
Publishing in the Knowledge Economy - DTI Home Page
Publishing in the Knowledge Economy - DTI Home Page
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
<strong>Publish<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> knowledge economy<br />
The <strong>in</strong>dustry today<br />
8.8 Contract publish<strong>in</strong>g<br />
A major growth area of consumer publish<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> last few years has been <strong>the</strong> production of<br />
magaz<strong>in</strong>es under contract, often to major<br />
companies such as retailers, supermarkets,<br />
airl<strong>in</strong>es, membership organisations and so on,<br />
and usually for free distribution to <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
customer or membership base (Figure 8.10).<br />
This is part of an overall drive by organisations<br />
to build customer loyalty and <strong>in</strong>crease brand<br />
strength. Traditional magaz<strong>in</strong>e publishers have<br />
exploited this new market and advertis<strong>in</strong>g<br />
agencies have also become big players as an<br />
extension of <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r brand build<strong>in</strong>g activities<br />
<strong>the</strong>y undertake for clients.<br />
8.9 Pan-magaz<strong>in</strong>e sector data<br />
8.9.1 Skill levels and skill shortages<br />
In common with o<strong>the</strong>r areas of publish<strong>in</strong>g, and<br />
<strong>in</strong>deed even more so <strong>in</strong> some respects,<br />
magaz<strong>in</strong>e publish<strong>in</strong>g employees have very high<br />
levels of qualifications, reflect<strong>in</strong>g its desirability<br />
as an occupation (Table 8.3).<br />
Magaz<strong>in</strong>e employers were slightly poorer at<br />
provid<strong>in</strong>g tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g than were publishers overall<br />
(Table 8.4). At <strong>the</strong> time of <strong>the</strong> Skills Foresight<br />
report survey, <strong>the</strong>y also faced <strong>the</strong> highest level<br />
of hard-to-fill vacancies, at 15% compared with<br />
10% <strong>in</strong> publish<strong>in</strong>g overall. Difficulty <strong>in</strong> fill<strong>in</strong>g<br />
vacancies is also much more problematic <strong>in</strong><br />
London than elsewhere. The staff turnover rate<br />
<strong>in</strong> magaz<strong>in</strong>es at 31.1% was much higher than <strong>in</strong><br />
publish<strong>in</strong>g overall (22.4%).<br />
Figure 8.10 Contract publish<strong>in</strong>g agency turnover<br />
250, £m<br />
200<br />
150<br />
100<br />
50<br />
1991<br />
1993<br />
1995<br />
Source The Advertis<strong>in</strong>g Association<br />
Table 8.3 Skill levels <strong>in</strong> magaz<strong>in</strong>e publish<strong>in</strong>g<br />
1997<br />
Table 8.4 Skill shortages and tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />
Skill shortages<br />
1999<br />
No or Basic Intermediate Higher Advanced<br />
low e.g. e.g. e.g. e.g.<br />
level O levels A levels degree postgraduate<br />
Management 5 6 13 61 14<br />
Editorial 5 4 15 63 8<br />
Support 4 12 41 31 4<br />
Office adm<strong>in</strong> & sec 7 19 42 22 3<br />
Production 6 15 33 34 2<br />
Sales, market<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
circulation 6 12 33 38 2<br />
Advertis<strong>in</strong>g 5 14 38 27 2<br />
O<strong>the</strong>r 14 10 28 41 0<br />
Source <strong>Publish<strong>in</strong>g</strong> NTO<br />
Employer report<strong>in</strong>g skill shortage, % 12<br />
Employer report<strong>in</strong>g no skill shortage, % 88<br />
Total 100<br />
Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />
Employers with tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g plan,% 40<br />
Employers with tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g budget, % 52<br />
Provides on and off job tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, % 56<br />
Provides off job tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g only, % 9<br />
Provides on job tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g only, % 23<br />
Provides nei<strong>the</strong>r, % 11<br />
Nei<strong>the</strong>r, all publish<strong>in</strong>g, % 10<br />
Source <strong>Publish<strong>in</strong>g</strong> NTO<br />
50