Recently by Tony McDonough

"YOU must love your job, Joel. All that Champagne, all that glamour. I'd love to do what you do. Have you got any vacancies at the moment?"

Just one quote from many similar ones that pass by me in a typical week in the public relations (PR) industry.

Sometimes, the potential candidate asking the question has been spurred on by the fact that you can be a "PR", for example, in Ibiza, by giving out flyers promoting the island's still bustling clubland.

On other occasions, they may have met the team promoting a property or business to business client in one of our other client's swanky retail stores, hotels, bars or restaurants (they definitely hadn't met us handling crisis management).

LIVERPOOL is known for its creative talent. We have produced the world's most famous band and top television programmes, we have a world class orchestra, art galleries and theatres.

But all too often, it's difficult for young people to make a career out of their passions.

It can be a case of who you know, whether you'll leave your home town and how little money you're prepared to work for. I want to change that.

I recently launched a new strategy "Creative Britain: New Talents for the New Economy" and central to it is the creation of 5,000 apprenticeships a year in the creative economies. And Liverpool is once again leading the way.

I AM constantly being asked the question: "How will the Capital of Culture affect you?"

And each time I reply with the same answer: "It'll be great for me personally and for business."

Or will it? After reading a recent article, I may now have to rethink my answer.

Emily Pacey's excellent piece in Design Week, in January, in which she claims it's "a missed opportunity", bemoaning that the programme offers just one large-scale design event, opened up a whole new can of worms.

WITH the ongoing transformation and regeneration of the city centre, there is a chance that some small creative businesses could get squeezed out.

We want to promote regeneration in the Baltic Triangle area of the city and champion our high-growth creative businesses.

The area, which stretches from Wapping to Parliament Street and includes Park Road and St James Street, already hosts organisations including the New Picket and the Novas Contemporary Urban Centre.