Supported by People Like Us and the UK Black Comms Network, the PRISM mentoring programme will be freely available to PR and communications professionals globally.

It offers structured mentoring across all sectors and provides meaningful support to Black, Asian and ethnically diverse professionals. The programme aims to inspire a generation of talent and support their career progression to the highest level of seniority.

Barbara Phillips, PRCA REEB chair, says, “For mentees this means more than a quick coffee squeezed in when your mentor can spare the time. And for mentors this means supporting, sponsoring and doing everything in your power to help your mentee succeed. It’s for the professionals new to the industry and the senior practitioners knocking on the C-suite door, waiting for someone to finally let them in. We are expecting some really great results.”

Mentors from diverse networks and communities across the industry will attend a 90-minute training session before being partnered with a mentee.

The programme will consist of six virtual or face-to-face meetings over an initial six-month period, with the option to extend following completion.

PRCA director general, Francis Ingham, says, “Our industry must do more to give Black, Asian and ethnically diverse professionals the opportunity to succeed. PRISM won’t create change overnight but will play an essential role in creating a fair and level-playing field for professionals from all backgrounds.”

The PRCA’s Race and Ethnicity Equity Board (REEB) was founded in July 2020 and exists to create immediate and long-term proportional racial equity within the PR and communications industry.

Further information and application forms for both mentors and mentees are available on the PRCA website here.