The Public Relations Institute of Ireland has published its first nation-wide census, revealing that the industry in Ireland is worth an estimated €1.2bn to the economy and is responsible for the employment of around 2,800 people.
Following research carried out by Amarach, the PRII Census also notes that 68% of the profession is female and there are more females than males in senior roles. However a higher proportion of the men in the profession occupy senior roles.
Just over half work in-house in organisations: 25% in the public sector and 27% in the private sector. 38% work in agencies and 9% are self-employed.
According to the research, 45% of respondents earn between €45,000 and €80,000.
In addition, almost half reported receiving work-related calls or emails outside office hours every day. However, 66% say they have a good work-life balance and 75% plan to stay in the sector.
According to Padraig McKeon, President of the PRII the research shows an increasing recognition of the value of effective professional communications across a range of sectors, with growth in practice areas such as public affairs, community, and internal communications. There are also increasing demands for communication specialists in finance, technology, healthcare and agri-food.
“Through the study we can also see that public relations has a highly educated workforce who are committed to keeping pace with the fast-changing media and corporate environment by investing in continuous professional development. Of those surveyed, 82% have a qualification relevant to their work and over half spent time on training or upskilling in the past year,” said McKeon.
“Overall the findings are very positive” said Dr Martina Byrne, Chief Executive, PRII, “and should encourage graduates from a range of disciplines to enter the profession. The work is varied, the range of organisations is wide, it’s well paid and there are life-long opportunities for women and men. In fact, to ensure a balanced gender mix in the future we need more male entrants to enter the profession,” she said.
