TORRANCE, Calif., (March 30, 2005) --- According to The Electronic Document Systems Foundation (EDSF), the non-profit organization dedicated to the document communications industry, building the industry’s future workforce is a challenge for academia and corporate America. As a result, EDSF is meeting that challenge head-on with the launch of a new campaign that targets high school students and raises awareness of careers in document communications. The campaign is entitled, “Imagine Your Future: Careers that Blend Technology with Creativity.” EDSF’s goal for the campaign is to attract qualified individuals to become a part of the document industry, enabling them to reap the rewards of the many career opportunities developing each day. “Many high school students are not aware of the exciting opportunities available in this industry that provide communication and document solutions,” said Jeanne Mowlds, EDSF executive director. “By educating students, parents and schools about the opportunities within the industry, together we can attract the best and the brightest talent to create the workforce required for the anticipated challenges in years to come.” Dr. Thomas E. Schildgen, Department Chair/Professor, Arizona State University, says, "The EDSF career campaign provides a critical recruitment function at a time when the graphic communications industry is experiencing increased attrition in the workforce due to retirements and rapid technological change. Creating awareness in high school students about the diverse features of this industry will help attract the future labor force that this industry needs. Institutions of higher education must diversify degree programs to address the cross-media aspects of the industry in an effort to prepare graduates for career employment predicated on innovation and global entrepreneurship." For the campaign, EDSF has produced an attractive, full-color, eight-page brochure that can be printed on demand by academic institutions for inclusion in college admission mailings and outreach efforts. Titled “Multimedia Communications - Imagine Your Future: Careers that Blend Technology with Creativity,” the brochure addresses the high school audience in a compelling manner. The brochure highlights the breadth of careers available and their educational requirements. It also includes encouraging comments from previous EDSF scholarship recipients about the excitement of being involved in the document industry. While developing the brochure, EDSF solicited feedback from educators and industry professionals to ensure that the piece was readily useable and valuable as a recruitment tool. A PDF of the brochure with printing specifications is available online at http://edsf.org/index.cfm or http://www.edsf.org/CareerInformation.cfm. EDSF encourages other document industry companies and academic institutions to get involved and support future industry professionals. To enquire about opportunities, contact EDSF at 310-541-1481 or e-mail [email protected].