Help or hindrance?: the guiding role of DPRG's job profile

A job profile for the PR sector has been available since 2005; it is published on the DPRG's website and is accessible online. The internet plays a particularly significant role in the everyday lives of young people. For them, the World Wide Web is a place where they can present themselves or find information on topics that interest them. For example, young people can use the internet to find out about various training pathways and careers. If, for example, you enter the keyword 'PR' into Google, the link to the DPRG website appears as the sixth result. This highlighted the relevance of the topic. Fifteen guided interviews, conducted in April 2009, were designed to investigate the role of the career profile in guiding A-level students' career choices. As no studies had yet been carried out on this topic, a qualitative research design seemed appropriate. Of particular interest were the questions of which general characteristics of a profession play a role for A-level students and whether these are addressed in the DPRG job profile, as well as whether the PR job profile raises awareness and sparks interest in the professional field.