Public relations practitioners in the Channel Islands will be able to undertake specialist public relations qualifications locally for the first time as from this autumn.
International training provider the PR Academy will, in conjunction with the Channel Islands Group of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, be launching the CIPR Diploma in Jersey and Guernsey as from October this year. Introducing the Diploma locally eliminates the need for PR practitioners to undertake qualifications involving frequent travel to the UK or substantial amounts of distance learning.
Taught by a specialist team of tutors, the course will be delivered over ten months and include three units of study. The first will take place over two, two-day sessions and discuss PR theory. The second unit will look at PR planning and combine a two-day session with some online learning. The final unit, a research project, will be delivered using the latest interactive online learning technology, with the final assignment being submitted in summer 2011.
Established more than ten years ago, the Diploma is a Masters level qualification aimed at those who want to develop their practitioner skills but who also want to underpin what they do with theory. Diploma graduates have gone on to hold senior positions in organisations in the UK and abroad. It is envisaged that the CIPR Advanced Certificate, a degree level qualification, will also be delivered in the islands in the future.
The PR Academy is the CIPR’s largest qualifications centre. It delivers the full range of CIPR qualifications in London and online and regularly achieves a pass rate approaching 100 per cent on all its courses.
Ann Pilkington from the PR Academy explained:
“The Diploma is a great qualification. It’s hard work, but extremely rewarding and really can transform your career. A Diploma graduate is a more strategic thinker and better equipped to make an impact at senior level. We believe strongly in applying theory to practice - our lectures are designed to be as interactive as possible, with lots of group discussion and debate.”
Adam Riddell, Training and Education Officer for the CIPR CI Group, added:
“Driving up standards of public relations in Jersey and Guernsey is a key objective of the CIPR CI Group and I am delighted that the PR Academy, a leading, international provider of CIPR qualifications, is to begin offering the Diploma this year to help achieve that. The launch of CIPR qualifications is a real step forward for the industry locally, making high quality PR education more accessible in both islands.”
Further details including dates and costs can be obtained atwww.pracademy.co.uk, and places must be confirmed by 3rd September.