LOBBYISTS, PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS PROFESSIONALS NEED TO GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER

Lobbyists, Public Affairs and Government Relations professionals need to get their act together. Without an organised education base and compulsory continuous professional development (CPD), it will never be a profession.

The older established professions e.g. medicine, law, teaching police their boundaries via compulsory, statutory educational requirements. However, in the absence of such requirements  lobbyists, public affairs and government relations professionals have turned to CPD as the primary tool to legitimize their aspirations to being recognized as a profession. The problem, however, with CPD programmes is that they tend to focus on the acquisition and development of skills rather than education in the traditional sense. As a matter of fact, it may be said that there is actually a downplay on the need for specific academic or knowledge base qualifications in favour of practical oriented skills.

AALEP is of the opinion that both theoretical and practical knowledge is required to perform professionally and has developed an accreditation process that considers theoretical knowledge, practical knowledge, professional ethics and philosophical approaches to the practice of lobbying, public affairs and government relations. AALEP's accreditation process includes the delivery of work sample, a written examination and an oral examination. The written examination covers a wide range of topics and issues, including history, theory, fundamentals of practice and professional ethics.