Marking International Project Management Day with our Apprentice, Rebecca Kelland
Marking International Project Management Day with our Apprentice, Rebecca Kelland
International Project Management Day, on November 6 2025, is a celebration of the economic and social value of projects and the people who deliver them. KOR Communications provides support for rural and urban schemes, helping landowners and managers get projects, from new housing to renewable energy developments, over the line.
Rebecca Kelland, an apprentice with the KOR Public Affairs Team who is studying for a level 4 Project Management qualification with Exeter College, sets out her views on the sector and why others might want to consider a career here.
“Growing up on a beef cattle and sheep farm and with a strong connection to the land and property sector, I developed a keen interest in the rural economy and the challenges of making rural businesses pay. A placement with the Exmoor Hill Farming Network, supporting them with the launch of a book, Exmoor Farms – A Year on the Moor, gave me a taste of project management.
I saw it as a highly transferable skill with applications not just in a rural setting but across all sectors of business. Increasingly, landed estates and companies engaged in land management and diversification realise the importance of using specialists for the management of different aspects of a project to achieve success.
Working with KOR I have quickly learned that communicating, clearly and accurately, and engaging with the right people at the right time to nurture understanding is a key aspect of successful project management.
I decided to pursue the apprenticeship route to get some real-world experience through active learning. By joining a well-established strategic communications agency, I have gained experience across a range of projects in the land and property sector, including housing developments, renewable energy installations and other land use diversification schemes.
Through working on real projects, alongside my college studies, I have been able to see how schemes can develop and change during their life cycle. It has meant I have been able share in the successes of our clients and understand the challenges they sometimes face in bringing a project to a successful conclusion. I have also benefited from the knowledge of my colleagues.
I was drawn to KOR Communications because of the portfolio of large landowning clients they work with. My experience of growing up in the countryside has provided me with valuable insight into how communities may react to the range of projects we help clients deliver.
From assisting a business with internal communications to inform staff about a change of computer software, to engaging with thousands of people in a community at the centre of a large housing development, project management brings a variety of challenges and experiences.”