Industry-leading journalism, content and PR & communications apprenticeships training from the UK and Ireland's national news agency.
Expertly trained apprentices can enhance your company's productivity, improve retention and power innovation through acquiring cutting edge skills at Press Association Academy.
We are part of The PA, so your apprentices will benefit from training delivered by leading practitioners in our newsroom, content and social media agencies.
We work in partnership with you to tailor media programmes to your needs, while ensuring your apprentices are supported to be confident, creative and ambitious.
Leading employers trust us to deliver an inspiring experience for their apprentices. They include the BBC, News UK, Bloomberg, Sky, the Telegraph, the Financial Times, Haymarket, Evening Standard, the Independent, ITN, Muddy Stilettos, Times Literary Supplement, Havi, and the Soil Association.
Our results speak for themselves: Press Association Academy apprentices regularly win industry awards, stand out in their workplaces, and go on to build stellar careers. We know what it takes to thrive in this ever-changing industry because our small-group training is led by experts who live and breathe it.
Apprentices spend one day a week learning with our specialist trainers, diving into practical skills and industry insights that make a real difference, while the rest of their time is spent putting those skills to work on the job.
Partnering with Press Association Academy means your apprentices will get top-tier training and hands-on support from learning the basics to executing their final projects. We've been doing this since 2018, and as an independent training provider, our programmes come quality assured by Ofsted with a 'Good' rating across all areas. Read the latest inspection report.
Looking for an apprenticeship role? Press Association Academy partners with businesses to train their apprentices. For current vacancies, check out the government apprenticeship FindAnApprenticeship portal.
More about our training
- NCTJ Diploma
- Apprenticeships
- Media Training
Courses
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Senior Journalist Apprenticeship: Level 7 programme
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Journalism Apprenticeships: Level 5 programme
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Public Relations and Communications Apprenticeships: Level 4
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Content Creator Apprenticeships: Level 3
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Why train with Press Association Academy?
- Newsroom connected with national and international reach
- More than 50 years' experience training journalists and PRs
- All courses are expert-led by working media professionals
- Trainers have a diversity of backgrounds and perspectives
- Small class sizes allow for practical, interactive exercises
Our trainers
Meet some of the Press Association Academy trainers who lead our apprenticeship training.
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Photo: Press Association Academy
Roz McKenzie
Head of Apprenticeship Training
Roz began her career as a court and crime reporter, then features editor at National News Press Agency (now South West News) before working as a senior features journalist at News of The World. Since then, Roz has worked as a lecturer specialising in media law, ethics and investigations, while also freelancing for national newsrooms. Roz is a judge for the Press Gazette's British Journalism Awards and sits on the NCTJ's Journalism Qualifications Board.
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Photo: Press Association Academy
Ian Collier
Trainer and apprentice cohort leader
Ian started his career in local newspapers, at the Worcester Evening News and Nottingham Evening Post. He spent 15 years as staff for Sky News Online, working as a producer, chief sub-editor and assistant editor in charge of digital output overnight. He's covered major news stories including 9/11, the London 7/7 attacks, UK and US elections, Brexit, the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine. He still works for Sky News as a freelancer, producing content and sub-editing.
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Photo: Press Association Academy
Tamasin Ford
Trainer and apprentice cohort leader
Tamasin has been working as a journalist for more than 20 years, reporting, presenting, and film-making from across Europe and Africa. She began her career in commercial radio in London before moving to the BBC, where she reported and presented on all domestic BBC outlets for both television and radio. In 2010 she moved to Liberia to train journalists with the charity Journalists for Human Rights and then freelanced across Africa for the Guardian, NPR, DW, France 24, RFI and the BBC. She became the BBC stringer in Ivory Coast and a regular presenter on the BBC World Service. Tamasin is now based in London where she works for the BBC's documentary unit, Africa Eye.
PA Media Training were efficient, well organised and genuinely lovely people to deal with and, importantly for us, able to provide flexibility around our needs to create the bespoke training we required. I wouldn’t hesitate to use them for further training or to recommend them to other organisations.
The methods and techniques you learn (and apply) on a daily basis through teaching, coursework and eventually exams crop up again and again in both job applications and jobs themselves – the course content is directly relevant to the realities of the industry.
The small class sizes nurture a comfortable environment where everyone supports and learns from each other. The staff helped me hone in on my writing skills and develop the confidence to feel comfortable on camera.
The teaching I received was second to none and despite having no experience whatsoever in journalism, the tutors made sure there was a friendly environment where I felt welcome to ask any questions I needed. I was able to finish the course and go into a job working for The Sun.
The lifelike interview settings and tasks that PA Media Training deal in replicate perfectly the real-world feel of a tough media interview and help the delegates come out of the day feeling much more confident that they can play an active role in representing their organisation.
The staff truly go above and beyond, providing detailed feedback, a wealth of knowledge and many career opportunities. I’d recommend the course to any budding journalist. You’ll have fun, too!
I was able to count on excellent teachers and professionals who helped me push my limits and achieve my goals. I was impressed by the quality of the course and the motivation teachers put into it. It was a great experience and I would definitely do it again!
Being equipped with an NCTJ Diploma does massive favours for your future, and the skills the course taught me are ones I lean on every single day. The simple fact is, I wouldn’t be where I am without that course.
What a great session we had on Communicating with Impact. Bridgid shared practical techniques to enhance and develop our communications skills so we can present and speak publicly or to senior stakeholders with confidence and impact. I speak for my whole team in highly recommending Bridgid Nzekwu if you are after effective and fun communication training.
I really could not recommend Press Association enough to anyone who is looking to jump into the fascinating world of journalism. The course equips you with all the necessary skills you need to enter the industry and the wide range of topics covered leaves it hard for you to ever feel bored.
The training scenarios are as real to life as you could possibly get. They took considerable time to research our current plans and issues and used these to design a series of true to life radio and TV interviews. The team is outstanding, and their expertise and knowledge has been invaluable. Book them – you’ll be glad you did.
I learned to write concise articles and features, while developing my skills in social media, interviewing sources, and producing stories for an increasingly online audience. The course has allowed me to start a full-time journalism career.
My time at PA Training was a whirlwind of fun and excitement. The full-time NCTJ course in London is fast-paced and hard work but perfectly sets you up for what to expect in a reporter role.
The team is flexible, slick, well-resourced and overall simply first class. Their expertise and knowledge have been invaluable. I was delighted with our choice, so I’d have no hesitation in recommending them
It’s a great place to make connections – networking with teachers, guest speakers and fellow students can be key to gaining advice or even job opportunities during and after the course.
Not only did I develop the necessary toolkit to become a journalist, but I also did so in an environment that fosters a real sense of community and personal career support.
I honestly thought that the whole day was fabulous!!! You really couldn’t have done anymore for us. The combination of practical exercises and feedback was particularly useful, it was a challenging day (in a very good way) in that we really had to think, learn and adapt quickly. I know the team are significantly better prepared for media interviews after this training.
I made amazing friends, amazing memories and now it has led me to an amazing job which I never would have gotten without my time at Press Association.
Find out more
Talk to the Press Association Academy team about dates, fees and bespoke training options.
Ask a question
Have a question about apprenticeship training? Send us a message and we will get back to you.
Enquire about an apprenticeship
Tell us which apprenticeship you are interested in and we will be in touch.