"Everyone thinks they can do PR" or "PR is easy, it doesn't require any skills" or "I fell into PR because I didn't know what else to do.."  

These are often heard remarks practitioners make about the profession of public relations, we may have made them ourselves.   But as the profession has evolved and we as practitioners have developed a heightened sense of what constitutes the role of PR so we are becoming more aware of requisite skill sets that anyone entering the profession should have. 

Many organisations have established their own criteria for the various roles in PR, whether in house or agency, with professional associations like the PRSA setting out a list of competencies for PR accreditation (see attached article).

As there are some specific issues we face in the Middle East where PR is still in a nascent form with few HR/senior managers really understanding the role or requirements for PR practitioners, MEPRA will work towards providing a resource for managers and practitioners alike to benchmark and highlight the various competencies and skills anyone in Public Relations should either be able to demonstrate or be working towards acquiring.

The Accreditation Board (PRSA) provides a useful check list:

1. Researching, Planning, Implementing and Evaluating programmes 

• Analytical skills
• Audience Identification and communication
• Evaluation of Programmes
• Financial Management
• Planning ability
• Research - applied and basic
• Stakeholder management
• Strategic thinking
• Methodology

 2. Ethics and Law

• Ethical behaviour
• Integrity
• Knowledge of legal issues

3. Communications Models and Theories

• Communications models
• Understanding barriers to communication

4. Business Literacy

• Business literacy
• Environmental scanning
• Industry knowledge
• Knowledge  of current organisational issues
• Knowledge of business technology and trends
• Understands all levels of management
• Uses organisation's resources

5. Management Skills & Issues

• Diversity
• Decision-making abilities
• Leadership skills
• Looking beyond prejudices / mind set
• Organisational skills
• Problem solving skills
• Sensitivity to cultural concerns
• Team Building

6. Crisis Communications Management

• Understands different phases of crisis
• Risk management capabilities

7. Media Relations

• Media relations
• News sensibility
• Understands media
• Understands distribution systems

8. Using Information Technology Efficiently

• Information management
• Knowledge of distribution channels
• Technology literacy

9. History of and current issues in Public Relations

• Knowledge of the field of public relations

10. Advanced Communication Skills

• Consensus building
• Consulting skills
• Negotiating skills

For those seeking a definiton of the word competence - the followig is a definition from wikipedia:

Competence is a standardized requirement for an individual to properly perform a specific job. It encompasses a combination of knowledge, skills and behavior utilized to improve performance. More generally, competence is the state or quality of being adequately or well qualified, having the ability to perform a specific role.