Smoking Gun PR is seeking businesses open to employing a PR apprentice for a new, industry-led Public Relations and Communications Apprenticeship.
A maximum of 20 businesses will join the first cohort, adding a junior member to their marketing or communications team while they study for a Level 4 Public Relations and Communications Apprenticeship. The programme is being launched by The Juice Academy and Apprentify, and taught by practitioners from leading PR agency, Smoking Gun.
The new training scheme was announced at The Academy’s recent tenth birthday celebration with Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham in attendance describing the Juice apprenticeships as “pivotal” in Manchester’s educational overhaul and future plans. The Juice Academy has already trained over 600 apprentices in digital marketing to date via its existing apprenticeships.
Teaching will begin this August 31 at Smoking Gun’s office in Manchester city centre, with the apprenticeship lasting between 12-18 months. All recruitment and vetting of apprentices is covered by The Juice Academy for a small fee of £450 with the employers interviewing and selecting their choice from a shortlist. Employers could also be subject to a £1,000 Government incentive if criteria are met.
Smoking Gun managing director Rick Guttridge said: “We’ve spent years perfecting our proven process to help clients achieve both communications and business goals resulting in over 70 peer judges award wins including seven global effectiveness awards. Bringing that level and depth of PR expertise to the fore in teaching a new generation of practitioners is hugely energising for our highly experienced senior team.
“With the highly publicised talent shortages in creative sectors and the collapse of undergraduate solus PR degrees in the UK, we hope that this apprenticeship will prove popular and successful in attracting talent to the industry. We’re working with The Juice Academy to reach as wide an audience as possible and encourage applicants from all walks of life.”
Juice Academy director, Sandy Lindsay MBE, adds: “As we look to build on the success of the last ten years of The Juice Academy, this new accreditation is another step forward in our plans to help more candidates launch their careers. Partnering with Apprentify and the best practitioners in their field is the secret of our success and we look forward to this continuing with Smoking Gun at our side.
‘We see the many benefits that businesses large and small alike enjoy from adding an apprentice to their ranks, not least fresh thinking, leading industry insight and a cost effective addition to their headcount in a time when many marketers are being tasked with doing more with less.”
Businesses wanting more information about what’s involved in taking on an apprenticeship can find out more from The Juice Academy.
