A discussion about the underrepresentation of working class people working in public relations, on The PRmoment Podcast

On the PRmoment podcast this week we’re talking about the lack of working class people working in public relations in the UK. In an attempt to increase the opportunities for working class people in PR Sarah Waddington and Stephen Waddington have launched Socially Mobile.

Socially Mobile is a not for profit that offers training to people with a 1 to 3 years’ PR experience to turbo charge their careers.

It deliver trainings to those from lower socio-economic backgrounds, as well as under-represented and under-served groups including Black, Asian and ethnic minority practitioners, women returners and those with disabilities

The eventual aim of the organisation is to increase the amount of talent from lower income backgrounds and under-represented groups to make the public relations sector more representative and diverse.

Before we start, thanks so much to the PRmoment Podcast sponsors, The PRCA.

For those observant amongst you, you’ll have noticed The PRmoment Awards 2022 have now opened for entries. Take a look at the home page of the awards microsite for more information on the categories and the entry deadlines.

Here’s a summary of what Sarah, Stephen and PRmoment founder Ben Smith discussed:

2 mins What are the demographic imbalances that the public relations sector in the UK faces?

3 mins Sarah refers to the Social mobility in the creative economy: Rebuilding and levelling up? report.

6.30 mins How does Socially Mobile aim to help increase the number of people from low socio economic background working in PR?

8 mins “We’ve built a 10 week exec program with a combination of formal and reflection learning, with 7 compulsory modules and a series of voluntary modules suited to the individual practitioner that will help people make that transition”

9 mins Why you can also buy a place on Socially Mobile, in addition to the “free” places.

16 mins Why Socially Mobile is not trying to increase the number of working-class or minority groups that enter the sector, it is concentrating on helping them grow their skills, get promoted and stay in the sector.

19 mins Does public relations have a retention problem or a recruitment problem amongst working-class people and minority groups?

25 mins How does Socially Mobile compare and integrate with some of the other schemes and organisations that are out there that aim to increase the diversity of the PR sector, namely Blueprint, The PRCA’s Apprenticeship Scheme, Black Comms Network, The Taylor Bennett Foundation and People Like Us?

30 mins How can people get involved with Socially Mobile, either for a free place, a paid for place, or to fund other people in the scheme?