The Publishing Training Centre and Marketability to work together to promote training

Posted on September 26, 2012 in Uncategorized

Preliminary step towards takeover? Absolutely not, says the PTC’s Peter McKay and Marketability’s Rachel Maund, who are cheerfully adamant that today’s announcement is a pragmatic response to falling training budgets and recognition that it makes more sense to collaborate than it does to compete.

The PTC has been providing publishing training for over 30 years, ‘new kid on the block’ Marketability for 12. In their years of co-existence the PTC has increasingly been associated with editorial and Marketability with marketing training. Both believe that playing to your organizational strengths simply makes sense when market conditions are tough, and both already recommend the other’s courses to enquirers when they best fit their needs.

So if ‘collaborate’ isn’t a euphemism, what does it mean? “Marketability’s three editorial courses will take place at the PTC centre in Wandsworth, and will be promoted by the PTC as well as by us”, says Rachel Maund. “In effect, the PTC is endorsing them as courses that would fit its own portfolio. But the only practical difference for delegates will be the venue.”

And what’s in this for the PTC? “We’re a charity with a remit to provide quality publishing training” explains Peter McKay, “and we recognize that by working with other like-minded organizations we can ensure a complete development portfolio is available to our mutual clients. This has to be good news regardless of whose logo is on the training materials.”

Marketability’s three editorial courses this autumn are Creative Publishing for Textbook Markets on 7 November, Essential Editorial Skills on 13 November, and Profitable Commissioning on 22 November, all at PTC at 45 East Hill. Details at http://www.marketability.info/course-diary.html or by emailing rachel@marketability.info

The PTC’s ‘flagship’ course, Commissioning and List Management, runs 12-15 November at Milton Hill House near Oxford.

Although Marketability’s marketing courses are unaffected by this announcement, don’t be surprised in this new, cuddly climate of collaboration to see them warmly recommended by the PTC or to see the PTC’s courses plugged by Marketability.