The international publisher is partnering with digital upskilling platform, Multiverse, to promote books and reading with effective AI use.
Pan Macmillan has launched a new AI Academy for colleagues, as part of a push to upskill its people and build a more sustainable publishing industry. Training will be provided by Multiverse to 20 colleagues across departments - including colleagues from editorial to finance, design and operations - helping them deliver more effective service to authors and illustrators through responsible AI use.
By harnessing AI to enhance processes and workflows, the publisher will ensure an aligned and ethical approach to AI is embedded across the business. This will unlock time and cost savings that allow them to deploy more resources towards the meaningful work of building relationships, developing new creative ideas and bringing books to the widest possible market. Training will promote coordinated and strategic AI use while improving efficiencies so teams can focus on attracting new readers and delivering the best results for their authors and illustrators.
Pan Macmillan is a partner of the National Year of Reading, a UK-wide campaign backed by the Department of Education and delivered by The National Literacy Trust, to help more people discover the joy of reading. According to the National Literacy Trust(opens new window), only one in three eight- to 18-year-olds enjoy reading in their spare time – a 36% drop in two decades.
Joanna Prior, CEO at Pan Macmillan said: “Publishing is a people business, fuelled by the hard work and dedication of our teams and the brilliant creativity of our authors and illustrators. Our partnership with Multiverse to launch the AI Academy is about empowering our people with the tools they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape.
"By mastering responsible AI, we aren't just improving workflows; we are unlocking the time and energy needed to focus on what truly matters: building deep relationships and finding new ways to bring stories to life. This isn't about replacing the human touch - it’s about enhancing it.
"At a time when literacy rates are a growing concern, we have a clear responsibility to use every innovation at our disposal to reach more readers and broaden our impact. We are looking ahead with curiosity, ensuring that as we grow more efficient, we remain a forward-thinking home for the very best talent in the publishing industry."
Briony Grogan, Director of People and Culture at Pan Macmillan said: “Our new training programme with Multiverse exemplifies our commitment to giving our teams the skills needed to thrive and best serve our creative community. Gaining a better understanding of AI tools gives our people a toolbox for the future and ensures that we will continue to thrive as a publisher for many decades to come.”
Gary Eimerman, Chief Learning Officer at Multiverse said: “Pan Macmillan has been a cornerstone of the British publishing industry for over 180 years. We are proud to be launching our latest AI Academy with a company that carries such social and cultural impact. We look forward to supporting their teams in embracing future-focused skills development that will deliver measurable results to the business on their campaign to reach more readers."
The training will see learners enrolled on Multiverse’s Level 4 AI for Business Value, which helps harness AI tools such as Power BI and Microsoft Copilot, and supports users with integrating them into everyday manual tasks.
Multiverse is the upskilling platform for AI and tech adoption, which delivers personalised, on-the-job learning. Multiverse has trained more than 20,000 apprentices in AI, data and digital skills since 2016.
Over 1,500 companies work with Multiverse to deliver a new kind of learning that’s transforming the workforce at scale. Programmes are targeted at people of any age or career stage.
