Regular visitors to the old Effective Media will have noted that I ran courses on media training and the like. Now that my full time tenure is with the rather excellent Liverpool John Moores University, I will of course be recommending the Business and PR degree, students and alumni for which often visit this site.

For anyone wanting to enter the profession, a PR degree is not the be all and end all. When I reckoned that three hour lunches and dinner with celebrities was a fab idea, I worked for a magazine called Go Daytrips. I got paid the princely sum of £200 expenses for editing around three issues. Hmm not so AbFab then! I’d had no professional writing experience before that but it did give me those skills. I wrote nice things about Merseyside Maritime Museum and they gave me a dream job.

In the CIPR tome PR Week, there was balanced article which debated whether or not PR degrees were worth doing. I can’t speak for other universities and colleges but what I can say is that JMU’s revolutionary World of Work initiative means that the skills needed for the job are monitored throughout the degree and a separate certificate offered. So it’s not just about placements, it’s the added value of integrating academia with work skills.

Obviously if you are running your own business, it’s not going to be possible to study for three years (or four with a placement) so there are a number of short courses which I would recommend. The CIPR is your best bet. I guess I am bound to say that but the again you only get what you pay for. The last one was on Social Networking and it opened my eyes that actually even the biggest industry ships were faltering in new waters. You can study for the CIPR diploma if you are serious about entering a career in the industry or a one or two day course

Overseas visitors should check out their own national professional body. It’s always a good starting point. There are any number of unqualified “mentors” always ready to slap 28 slides on a Powerpoint and call it good VFM training.

If you are looking for a course and not sure which way to go, comment here or email me at keith@effective-media.co.uk