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Why internships are important to the PR industry

At Freshwater, we have long recognised the value of employing interns. We were one of the founding signatories of the PRCA’s campaign to end the practice of unpaid internships, and were quick to adopt paying all staff, including interns, above regional Living Wage rates. Therefore, it was a complete honour to receive independent recognition from the PRCA last month for the “Best Internship Programme 2018”.

Employing interns makes good business sense. A 12-month internship programme delivers tangible benefits to the intern, the wider team, and, of course, the organisation as a whole. The intern is able to progress through a structured development programme that enables them to learn a range of multi-disciplinary communication skills from the very best in the industry, while the wider team reaps the reward of new talent bringing a fresh perspective with them. The business, in turn, benefits by being able to reduce costs by filling its recruitment pipeline, engendering a sense of loyalty among its workforce, and, ultimately, helping to improve staff retention rates. After all, around a fifth of Freshwater’s 60-strong staff started off their careers as interns with the company.

It’s by placing a real sense of value on the role interns play that truly allows these mutually beneficial relationships to shine, ultimately contributing to successful client delivery, an improved workforce and the continued of growth of the business. 

About Freshwater

Freshwater is one of the UK’s leading independent communications agencies with a 60-strong team, based in London and Cardiff, providing multi-channel, integrated communications consultancy aimed at stakeholder, consumer, business and political audiences. Find them at www.freshwater-uk.com or on Twitter @FreshwaterUK