There is no set entry route into this career. You may come to it from a background in journalism, marketing or IT, or you might move into the role after gaining experience in another area of a business.
Whatever your background, you would normally need previous experience of writing content in some form, although not necessarily online. A useful way to show employers your skills is to build up a collection of your published work.
You can gain writing experience in several ways:through your existing workplace – producing marketing materials or bulletins for the company intranet; voluntary work – creating articles, leaflets and information sheets for a community group, a charity or local free newspaper; taking a training course at college or university.
You could take a course that would teach you some of the skills needed for producing web content. Relevant subjects include journalism, publishing, media, and communications, PR and marketing.
You do not need specific IT skills for a management position, although a knowledge of web design, desktop publishing and photo imaging would broaden your options, as many jobs combine management with writing or web design.
An understanding of web content management systems and how they work could be useful, but you would be given training in specific packages once you start working.