Public relations professional training interface. Comparative study

We adopt an approach that views the education system as an interface of relationships, where individuals and technology interact, to examine the development of professional Public relations (PR) training competencies. The main objective is to analyze the academic offer of postgraduate courses in Ecuador (16), Spain (14) and Argentina (6), from a theoretical and empirical point of view, including the expected competencies, areas of performance and graduate profiles, especially in the context of changes in the field. The methodology includes a documentary and bibliographic review, an analysis of academic programs in the thirty-six main universities, and a review of the main trends in communication management from secondary sources such as industry associations. The findings highlight the predominance of digital and business approaches in the programs of the three countries. In addition, it is found that only a minority of master's programs in communication are clearly focused on public communication or the third sector. Argentina and Spain lead the way in teaching skills in PR, while Ecuador has a stronger focus on digital and technological communication. In summary, this study highlights the dispersion in the approaches of academic programs, which makes it difficult to achieve specific goals and skills for PR. Furthermore, it highlights the need to balance the focus on strategy in academic training in PR. The competencies of management, strategic thinking and action, as well as the organization and implementation of internal and external communication, are associated with high performance in the study programs examined.