As we approach the final stretch of this Government’s spending review cycle, every department is being challenged to think differently—about delivery, efficiency, and how to work more intelligently with the world beyond Whitehall.
With a mission-led government driving reform through partnerships and collaboration, now is the time to modernise not only how government works internally, but how it interacts with the ecosystem that surrounds it: business, civil society, professional bodies—and the public affairs community in particular.
For too long, public affairs has been seen as the art of influence, not the science of it. But today’s public affairs professionals are not just messengers—they are policy navigators, reputation stewards, data interpreters and risk managers. We play a pivotal role in shaping understanding between institutions and society. And yet, ours remains one of the few professions with little to no formal route into practice and limited vocational development once inside.
This must change.
Vocational training is not a ‘nice to have’—it’s a foundational necessity if we want to professionalise public affairs in the way other sectors have. Law has the LPC. Accountancy has the ACA. Communications has the CIPR. But in public affairs, much of what we learn is still on the job, informal, unstructured and inconsistent. That leaves us at a disadvantage, especially when we’re working across a system where rigour, accountability, and standards matter.
Too often, practitioners arrive in public affairs via politics or communications and are left to figure out policy making processes, stakeholder engagement dynamics, parliamentary procedure, and regulatory cycles through osmosis. That’s not good enough—not for the calibre of work expected, nor for the calibre of professionals the sector is capable of producing.
We need a system that builds confidence as well as competence. That means investing in professional development that is directly relevant to the day-to-day work of influencing policy—how to analyse legislation, how to write compelling copy for government audiences, how to engage constructively with Select Committees, or how to feed into consultations with insight and credibility.
The best public affairs professionals are those who understand both the political system and their organisation’s commercial or charitable imperatives—and can translate between them with fluency. But translation requires more than just instinct. It requires training.
It’s also vital for inclusion. If we want to open up public affairs beyond the traditional Oxbridge-politico pipeline, then we need vocational routes that equip people from all backgrounds to enter and thrive in this space. Public affairs should not be the preserve of those who already “get” the system; it should be accessible to those who are ready to learn it—and then challenge it.
A more formalised, vocationally trained profession also makes the case for greater legitimacy. If public affairs wants to be recognised as an essential partner to government—not just a convenient one—then we need to meet the moment with professionalism, standards, and continual learning.
Because what we’re asking of government is not just to listen more, but to collaborate more intelligently—with the right people, at the right time, with the right information. That’s where skilled public affairs professionals can add enormous value. But only if we are trained to do so.
This isn’t about box-ticking. It’s about building capacity. Across the public and private sectors, the demands of policy making, regulatory engagement and reputational risk are increasing. But so too is the opportunity—if we equip our workforce properly.
My message to employers, industry bodies and government alike: let’s stop thinking of training as remedial, and start recognising it as strategic. Let’s treat vocational development as an investment in better policy outcomes, faster problem-solving, and stronger democracy.
A better-trained public affairs profession means better support for government. It means a more dynamic civil service. And it means policies that are better understood, better implemented and more likely to succeed.
We’ve professionalised the practice. Now it’s time to professionalise the pathway.
For over 24 years, Parli-training has been at the forefront of delivering practical, vocational training for public affairs professionals—offering a dynamic, real-world alternative to static, academic or overly theoretical models. Our courses are designed to reflect the fast-paced, political realities of working with government, helping professionals at every stage of their career develop the skills, confidence and insight needed to influence effectively.
As the demands on our profession grow, the need for flexible, practical training that keeps pace with political change has never been more critical. Vocational development is not just a pathway into the profession—it’s how we keep it moving forward.