Trends in education of communication professionals: The perspective of educators and employers in Croatia

Abstract The extremely rapid development of technology raises the importance of leaders of higher education institutions, as well as educators teaching public relations, to monitor scientific developments of the profession, market trends, and in particular, the needs of employers who will in the future employ recently educated personnel. This element is even more pronounced during times of global crisis in the communications industry where the number of jobs is decreasing, and the increase in criticism of educational institutions, which can be summarized in the claim that educational programs are not adapted to market needs. Guided by this situation, in this paper, the authors analyze the interrelationship between the academic community and employers in the communications industry, and compare their views on the issue of knowledge, skills and competencies which communication professionals must possess in order to be successful in this profession. The main research question is to what extent the views on the quality of education of future PR professionals differ from the perspective of employers and the academic community.