Another year has passed so quickly. Have you set your New Year resolution and did you achieve your goals last year? Needless to say, you should have realised that the most difficult part about goal setting is having the determination to stay committed. One useful and realistic goal that you can set this year is to embark on some training programmes to upgrade your skills.
For a start, you can take a look at the new 2008 CIPR Spring/Summer training programme online at www.cipr.co.uk/training, which is a comprehensive training programme covering a wide range of fundamental topics such as ‘Creativity in PR’, ‘Brand marketing in PR campaigns’ and ‘PR on a low budget’.
Do not fret if time has always been a deterrent to your development progress as the brand new series of ‘Freshly Squeezed’ breakfast briefings will return in April, to provide all the essential bite-size training you need. Alternatively, you may wish to take a day off to learn how to better manage your time at the new ‘Effective time & stress management’ workshop in our Personal Development category.
Looking at the ‘Trends to watch in 2008’ from the Advertising Age online web page at http://adage.com/article?article_id=122609 , the year ahead certainly looks challenging. New media opportunities will continue to grow and it's vital that practitioners know how to use these new channels. Don’t miss the CIPR ‘Introduction to Social Media’ workshop if you are looking to upgrade your knowledge and skills.
To help you stay ahead of the industry, you will be delighted to know that the CIPR has launched a new series of highly practical masterclasses that focus on providing you with information, advice and solutions to a range of hot topics including ‘New Media for old hands – have you been left behind?’ and ‘Managing your PR career’. More information can be found at http://www.cipr.co.uk/masterclass/
What’s more, there is an increased number of workshops taking place in Scotland, Leeds and Birmingham this Spring - www.cipr.co.uk/workshops So living outside of London poses no problem.
For further information on training and development, please visit www.cipr.co.uk/training
Choo-Li Tan, CIPR Training Development Officer