BRIDGING THE COMPETENCY GAP: REPOSITIONING PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTITIONERS FOR THE DIGITAL COMMUNICATION ERA

The study examined the awareness of public relations practitioners regarding emerging digital communicationtechnologies and competencies, the competency gaps confronting practitioners in their adoption and application, andstrategies for repositioning and enhancing practitioners’ competencies. The study was anchored on TechnologicalDeterminism Theory and Diffusion of Innovations Theory. A survey research design was adopted for the study. Thepopulation comprised registered public relations practitioners in Rivers State, while a sample size of 270 wasdetermined using the Taro Yamane sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Datawere analysed using weighted mean scores based on a four-point Likert scale, with 2.50 as the criterion mean. Findingsrevealed that practitioners generally had considerable awareness of emerging digital communication technologies,although awareness of digital analytics was relatively lower. The study also found competency gaps in artificialintelligence application, digital analytics, and digital content creation, while respondents did not generally considerthe integration of emerging technologies a major difficulty. Furthermore, regular digital skills training, continuousprofessional development, improved access to modern digital tools, and curriculum updates were identified asimportant strategies for enhancing practitioners’ competencies. The study concluded that effective repositioningrequires continuous capacity development and institutional support to enable practitioners to adapt effectively totechnological changes in the digital communication environment.