Inspiring the Next Generation
Just two months into 2024, WPR has already spoken to more than 500 young people about careers in communications, PR and social media.
As a PR agency with more than three decades experience of discovering and developing talent, offering career advice is not new to WPR. But over the last two years, how this is delivered has been reviewed and redesigned to better meet the needs of potential recruits in today’s jobs market.
Rebecca Williams, director of people and planning, said: “This is such an exciting industry to work in – it is constantly evolving and offers a fascinating array of career paths – but research in the CIPR’s Levelling Up report demonstrates that most school leavers know very little about it.
“We want to help change that. By connecting with young people when they’re first thinking about future studies and the world of work, we can encourage those who might not previously have considered a career in PR or social media to explore the opportunities it offers.”
With that in mind, 2024 has already seen WPR deliver a careers day for Year 8 at Alderbrook School, a social media workshop for A level students at Barr Beacon School, a lecture on crisis communications at Coventry University, and a University of Birmingham Marketing Society talk, as well as attending Coventry University’s business and law careers fair.
Feedback following the events highlights the immediate impact they can have:
- At Alderbrook School a 75% increase in awareness and understanding of PR was recorded after the event, with 68% of those involved saying they might now consider a career in the sector.
- Following the Barr Beacon workshop, 100% of students said they were now more aware of a what a career in PR involves, with 63.7% saying they would consider it as a future career (up from 23.5% prior to the workshop).
If you are interested in finding out more about careers in PR and social media, WPR’s Next Gen learning and experience programme is a great place to start.
For those ready to embark on a career in PR, find out more about working at WPR and check out the opportunities to join WPR by keeping an eye on our vacancies page.
68%would now consider a career in pr
100%now more aware of what a career in pr involves