INTRODUCTION TO THE PR TRAINING PROGRAMME 

The Taylor Bennett Foundation's award-winning PR Training Programme is a ten week full-time training course in Public Relations (PR) and Communications, designed to equip participants with the relevant knowledge, insights and skills to work in the PR and corporate communications industry.

There are a number of programmes each year, each sponsored by a different PR or communications agency. Our current sponsors are: Brunswick Group, Finsbury and FTI Consulting.

Applications for our Summer PR Training programme are now closed!

What is the PR Training programme?

The Taylor Bennett Foundation (TBF) PR Training programme is generally a ten-week intensive PR and Communications training programme. Due to the impact of COVID-19, the summer programme will be shorter than usual and will run for Five weeks. The programme will also be delivered mostly in a virtual format.

The summer programme is sponsored by Brunswick, a leading corporate communications and strategic advisory firm.

Our training programme is designed to directly address the need for greater ethnic diversity in the Public Relations (PR) and Communications industry and is open to graduates from a black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) background.

Who are Brunswick?

Brunswick is a strategic advisory firm focused on critical issues. Advising on critical issues at the center of business, politics and society, Brunswick help their clients – the leaders of large, complex organizations – understand and navigate these interconnected worlds

‘From financial situations through to capital markets, crisis, cyber, employee engagement, and litigation, clients rely on Brunswick for insight, advice, planning, preparedness, and campaigns’.

The PR Training programme combines practical workshops with regular writing and presenting tasks, to provide extensive industry insight and allow the development of specific skills. Tasks on the programme include:

  • Workshops and training in all services offered by Brunswick including financial communications, corporate campaigning, public affairs, crisis management and public policy.
  • Learning how companies reach and engage their stakeholders, the UK media and digital channels and other PR skills.
  • Masterclasses: weekly masterclasses (webinars and visits) take place with a variety of agencies and in-house communication’s teams
  • Training courses via the PRCA and CIPR
  • Writing tasks – conducting daily newspaper summaries of the broadsheets, mid-market tabloids and the red tops. Writing press releases and maintaining a blog which looks at prominent issues and case studies within the industry.
  • Presenting – presenting campaigns and research topics to a variety of audiences
  • Expert careers coaching to help you plan your future in the communications industry

The traineeships are paid - £287.00 per week training allowance – TAX AND NI EXEMPT (take-home pay is equivalent to national minimum wage)

Will I secure a job when the programme finishes?

Whilst jobs are not guaranteed, there is a strong possibility of employment opportunities after the programme.

We have an excellent track record of helping graduates of the training programme get into work. In 2019 100% of the PR Trainees went straight into employment or a fixed term contract, many were with their sponsoring agencies.

Overall, 62% of our alumni are still working in communications [2018 survey].

What are we looking for?

  • Passion for current affairs, the commercial world and the media.
  • Raw talent, ambition and drive.
  • Excellent research and analytical skills.
  • Lively curiosity and a hunger to learn.
  • Communications skills; people who can listen are articulate and persuasive.

The successful candidates will:

  • Want to pursue a successful career in PR and communications
  • Have graduated in the last three years. We will accept applications from graduates who have studied any subject
  • Be a British national or have an immigration status that allows you to be employed in the UK at the end of the five-week programme.
  • Be able to commit to the full five-week programme.

How do I apply?

Applications for our summer programme are now closed. We will be hosting another programme in 2020 and will be providing additional information on this programme shortly. 

If you have any queries about the PR Training programme or application process in the meantime, then please contact our team on [email protected].