Friday, December 12, 2025
Friday, December 12, 2025
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) has published new research revealing that limited access to industry professionals and work experience is deterring the next generation from choosing careers in public relations and communications.
The report – Choosing Public Relations: Factors impacting career choice for the next generation of potential PR practitioners – was authored by Caroline Spence MCIPR, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at De Montfort University, and funded by the CIPR’s Research Fund. It surveyed more than 130 students and recent graduates across 12 UK universities studying marketing, business, and communications-related degrees, asking about their awareness of PR as a career option, the factors shaping their career decisions, and the barriers they faced in accessing work experience, internships, and entry-level roles.
Key findings from the research include:
The report concludes with actionable recommendations for educators, employers, and sector bodies to strengthen collaboration, embed PR careers content within teaching, expand access to paid work experience, and provide targeted support for under-represented groups.
Caroline Spence MCIPR, author of the report, said: “This research gives a voice to students and graduates who are interested in PR but don’t yet see a realistic way in. They understand the value of communication, and they’re motivated by purpose, creativity, and impact, but they’re struggling to access the networks and experiences that convert that interest into employment. Many of the survey respondents told us that closer ties with industry – through paid internships, mentoring, guest lecturers or networking opportunities – would have made it easier to secure work. That’s a clear signal that practice and academia need to work together to open doors and make those opportunities accessible to all students, regardless of background or location.”
Advita Patel Chart.PR FCIPR, CIPR President, said: “This study highlights both the promise and the problem for our profession. We have a generation of talented, motivated students who are aware of PR and eager to contribute, but too many are being locked out by barriers that shouldn’t exist.
The solution is clear: as an industry, we must provide paid, practical routes into the profession that don’t rely on privilege or personal networks. If we want PR to reflect the diversity of the society we serve, we need to make sure every capable student can see a path into it – and that path is open, fair and well supported.”
Written by: Editor
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This research is no surprise, but a welcome reminder that as an industry we need to do more.
Speaking from an agency perspective, we’re a sector of micro-businesses & SMEs & my experience talking to peers about this is overwhelmingly in support of doing more. However, the capacity to allocate dedicated resource to connecting & engaging wider communities that would benefit can be a challenge to accommodate.
At AMBITIOUS – we’re a strategic comms agency for B2B brands based in Bristol with a team of 25 – we’ve partnered with one of the main universities (UWE) & a Babbasa, a local social enterprise supporting young people from disadvantaged communities to pursue their professional ambitions, to offer a variety of taster sessions, mentoring & work experiences across the year & that’s worked for us & the young people who join us – great to see a growing ‘alumni’.
We’ve also tapped into some of the internships schemes that University of Bath offer – paid work experience where the uni covers salary costs. The quality of the interns has been great; we’ve done this now for the last three years. I’d recommend approaching your local uni to understand what programmes they run.