A NEW apprenticeship programme has been launched in Oxfordshire to help the next generation start their career in publishing.

The publishers Taylor & Francis are offering the apprenticeship scheme to anyone over the age of 16.

The apprenticeship will give young people the chance to obtain a Qualification, as well as gain vital occupational experience in the various roles available at its Milton Park, Oxfordshire headquarters.

Taylor & Francis is a publishers of scholarly journals, books, ebooks and reference works with content that spans all areas of Humanities, Social Sciences, Behavioural Sciences, Science, Technology and Medicine.

The worldwide publishing group partners with researchers, scholarly societies, universities and libraries worldwide.

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The publishers believe its apprenticeship scheme is designed to champion diversity, provide training opportunities for a wide range of people and create leaders of the future.

There are editorial, production, marketing, sales and technology opportunities all open to young people in Oxfordshire.

The apprenticeship contracts run for a minimum of 12 months.

The scheme launched by welcoming five new recruits to the company including Emily Maughan aged 19.

Miss Maughan joined T&F’s open access department where she helps provide quick responses to authors with queries around publishing their articles as open access - this is a role which she has said she found "really interesting".

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Miss Maughan said: "I finished my A Levels and I was working in a customer facing role and I was looking for a suitable apprenticeship scheme as I didn’t feel university was the right path for me."

She continued: "When I saw the opportunity at Taylor & Francis I knew it would be something that I’d love to do, and fortunately it did not require me to have a degree like many other schemes I’ve seen. I’ve been really keen to begin a career in publishing for a long time and I began that journey a few years back during a work experience spell, so I was delighted to join T&F and I have to thank them for offering me this opportunity."

She added: "One of the benefits of the Apprentice Scheme is that I have been able to learn a lot of new skills, especially on programs such as Microsoft Excel, and I have met a lot of new people. I work full-time hours and as part of my working week I complete a Level 3 Business Admin Apprenticeship course. I am finding it to be a really valuable experience and I’m looking forward to continuing a career in publishing."

Apprenticeship coordinator at Taylor & Francis, Charlotte Wise welcomed the new scheme and said: "Taylor & Francis is committed to investing in both new and developing talent across the business. Introducing apprenticeships enables us to offer tailored training, ensuring specially qualified employees bring fresh perspective to the work environment."

She continued: "We are able to develop mentoring skills in existing staff and encourage increased diversity across departments and teams. We are therefore delighted to welcome our first ever cohort of apprentices into our Milton Park offices."

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The five new starters at the publishers are all over 16 and from Oxfordshire and the scheme has provided them with an opportunity to take an alternative career path to the standard university route.

The publishing company is looking for more young people who want to kick start their career in publishing without going to university.

Taylor & Francis is one of the world’s leading business intelligence, academic publishing, knowledge and events businesses.

The company has more than 6,500 employees globally, it has a presence in all major geographies, including North America, South America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

For further information, or to register your interest in an apprenticeship role contact charlotte.wise@tandf.co.uk. Further information on a range of careers at Taylor & Francis can be found at www.taylorandfrancis.com/careers.