Author: Micky Harris

Tools for Goal Setting – 23 Feb, Birmingham

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Free workshop for members

The date and time: 23 Feb, 11am to 5pm

The venue:
Musicians' Union
2 Sovereign Court
Graham Street
Birmingham
B1 3JR

Get focused this year by setting clear goals that will help you improve your creative performance and career success in the short and long term..

Apply online by 13 Feb

Achieve your goals in 2017

Having goals in our lives sets a direction and helps us make the decisions on what to focus our efforts on. Some find it hard to create goals at all, while others have no problem setting goals, but are unable to motivate themselves to achieve them.

There can be all sorts of reasons for this, for example, your goals may not actually be your goals, but other people’s that you have (consciously or unconsciously) adopted, or perhaps securing the dream job means you’ll have to travel extensively and you are worried that this will have a negative impact on your family life.

This workshop aims to give you tools to process all your aims, now and in the future, so you can create clear, achievable, compelling goals, which are compatible with and do not conflict with any other areas of your life.

Workshop Content

This course will:

  • help you define clear, achievable goals which are within your control
  • provide a model to allow you to check your goals to ensure that you really want them, and that achieving them will not result in you losing something else that is important to you
  • give you an opportunity to amend or re-configure your goal to make it fully desirable to you
  • identify what might obstruct your goal, and what you can do about it
  • understand what the purpose of your goal is to you and become fully aligned to it - making it a compelling goal
  • learn tools to tackle difficulties
  • identify your first steps.

Who should attend?

Freelances working in the creative industries who want to improve their goal setting and goal achievement capabilities.

Expected learning outcomes

You can expect to leave this workshop with a set of tools you can use on any of your goals to reshape them so they are compatible with all aspects of your life, and therefore compelling for you to achieve.

Join us and take the first steps to making your current goals your future reality!

Tutor: Muriel McClymont

POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself.

NOTE: 1. If we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap. 2. At the workshop, we are required to undertake a short equality & diversity survey. The information provided will be treated in the strictest of confidence and processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and will help in our commitment to E & D.

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand.

All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a couple of days of this date.

Further enquiries
e: [email protected]
t: 07580 348726

Creative Productivity – 16 Feb, London

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Free workshop for members

The date and time: 16 Feb, 10.30am to 4.30pm

The venue:
Equity
Guild House
Upper St Martin’s Lane
London
WC2H 9EG

Improve your time management, remove distractions and zoom through the chores of being freelance. Turn your To Do list into something you enjoy – and do – instead of just dread. Become the one everybody turns to because you never forget anything and you always deliver.

This workshop will help you understand how you work and what you can do to make better use of your limited time, become more productive and feel in control.

Apply online by 6 Feb

Workshop content

This workshop will help you understand how you work and what you can do to make better use of your limited time, become more productive and feel in control.

Filled with practical advice and time saving tips, the workshop covers:

  • Multitasking – how it can be bad for creatives and what you can do about it
  • Priorities – the difference between urgent and important
  • To Do lists – turning them from something you hate and avoid into something useful
  • How preparation can make you more efficient
  • Computers – time-saving tools that will make your life easier.

Who should attend

Those who are not getting enough done in their working week and are feeling that their work is controlling them rather than vice versa.

Expected learning outcomes

  • A better understanding of how to manage your time and become more productive
  • A better understanding of how to balance your creative and business work
  • Knowledge of how to quickly dispense with chores so more of your time is spent on your talent
  • Specific computer knowledge about what tools will help you and how to use them.

Tutor: William Gallagher

POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself.

NOTE: if we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap.

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand. All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a few days of this date.

Further enquiries
e: [email protected]
t: 07710 240585

 

Get Hired! – 31 Jan, London

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How best to present yourself to get new work
Free workshop for creative freelance members

The date and time: 31 Jan 2017, 11.00am to 5.00pm

The venue:
Musicians' Union
60-62 Clapham Road
London
SW9 OJJ

Effective interview and presentation skills - whether at a formal interview or a chance meeting where there might be work at the end of it – are essential. Some find the thought of self-presentation terrifying! Others find it easier. Whatever you feel, you can always do better.

Apply Online by 22 Jan

Workshop Content

This one-day workshop is designed to give practical advice and support to help you improve how you demonstrate your many skills and abilities to a potential employer, through both what you say and how you say it. It covers:

  • How to prepare effectively
  • How to get your message across
  • How to respond to difficult questions or challenging scenarios
  • How to match your skills to the opportunity
  • How to positively use your voice and body language
  • How to confidently present yourself and your experience

We offer lots of practise, advice and mock interviews/meetings (you define the situation that will be most helpful to you). You will receive constructive feedback, and get the chance to test-drive new responses to your dreaded questions or scenarios.

Who should attend?

Anyone who needs to present themselves effectively with the aim of making the most of every face-to-face opportunity to get more work.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the workshop, you will:

  • have gained a clearer understanding of how you come across in person and how to improve this
  • have practiced and received constructive feedback on the effectiveness of your interview or presentation technique
  • understand what you need to do to maximise the impact you make
  • know how to prepare for an interview so that you feel informed, confident and as relaxed as possible
  • be better prepared for challenging questions or scenarios – and know how you can use them to your advantage
  • have an action plan for your next steps.

Tutors: Sue Walker and Muriel McClymont

POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself. NOTE: 1. If we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap. 2. At the workshop, we are required to undertake a short equality & diversity survey. The information provided will be treated in the strictest of confidence and processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and will help in our commitment to E & D.

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand. All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a couple of days of this date.

Further enquiries
e: [email protected]
t: 07580 348726

WEBINAR – Strategies for Success 11am, 24 Jan

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Easy to enrol – learn from the comfort of your own computer!

11am – 12.15ish, 24 January 2017

This webinar examines some popular strategies and tips that successful people use to achieve what they want in life with the aim of helping you to think about how you can learn from these to support your career progress and gain greater satisfaction from what you do.

ENROL HERE

Content

In this webinar, we’ll discuss key strategies that successful people use to turn aspirations into reality and examine how you can apply this in practice to achieve your creative goals including:

  • Exploring the definition of success
  • Long-term development strategy
  • Actions that count
  • Creating helpful habits

The format

While you will be able to see and hear the tutors, you will not be visible or audible to them or each other. Nobody will know if you have bird’s nest hair! However, you will be able to ask questions, see the questions that others ask and make comments.

The format for this session is approximately 1hr of presentation-style teaching interspersed with questions and answers from participants. We will round up the session with a Q & A session. Depending on how many questions are asked, the session may run longer than 1hr so please set aside 1hr 20mins if you want to stay to participate in the Q & A at the end.

Who should enrol

Those who wish to improve their goal setting and goal achievement capabilities and those who wish to get motivated/re-motivated to achieve their goals. Come on – let’s get creative!

Expected learning outcomes

  • A clearer idea of what success means to you
  • Increased awareness of how people achieve their goals
  • A clearer understanding of how you can use your own experience and the experience of others to become more successful

Tutors: Frances Dredge and Muriel McClymont

Further enquiries
e: [email protected]
t: 07914 397243

Social Media for Work – 20 Jan, London

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Free workshop for members

Date and time
20 Jan 2017, 10.30-4.30

Venue
Equity
Guild House
Upper St Martin's Lane
London
WC2H 9EG

Apply online by 11 Jan

Workshop content

Using social media effectively can help you get better and more work as well as to engage with like minded professionals. This workshop looks at how you get started and how to use social media such as Facebook and Twitter as a valuable business tool rather than a means of sharing photos of your cat!

Who should attend?

This course is for people who've not started on social media (Facebook and Twitter particularly) or who have signed up but done little else or don’t really see the point of it. We look at:

  • what is meant by social media
  • differences between Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others
  • what it can do for you
  • how to get set up
  • how to construct a profile
  • how to be time-efficient
  • tips and tricks.

Note: This workshop includes tutor demonstration, instruction and group interaction. You will not be expected to go online at the session but you will need to follow up post session to implement what you have learnt.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the workshop, you will:

  • have a better understanding of how to use social media to support your work
  • have greater knowledge of popular social media platforms and which ones would work best for you
  • be able to plan in social media activities to suit your work and time limitations
  • Be more confident and able at communicating through social media to meet your objectives.

Tutor: David Thomas

POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself.

NOTE: 1. If we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap. 2. We are required to undertake a short equality & diversity survey, which you will need to fill in before or at the workshop. The information provided will be treated in the strictest of confidence and processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and will help in our commitment to E & D.

IMPORTANT: Unfortunately we cannot always offer everyone who applies a place due to high demand. We set up a waiting list and contact people if there are cancellations. If you do NOT receive confirmation that you have secured a place, please do not turn up on the day because we will not be able to admit you. However, please keep applying because we work hard to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to attend at some point.

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand.

All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a couple of days of this date.

Further enquiries

e: [email protected]
t: 07580 348726

Finance for Freelances – 6 Dec, London

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Free workshop for members

Essential for every freelance, this workshop will help you improve your financial management from how to work out your tax to cash flow forecasting.

The date and time:
6 December 2016, 10.30-4.30

The venue:
Equity
Guild House
Upper St Martin’s Lane
London
WC2H 9EG

Tutor: David Thomas

Apply online by 27 Nov

Workshop content

Full of tips, discussion and practical exercises, this workshop will help you understand, organise and plan your finances more successfully. You’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and will receive handouts and links to useful spreadsheets and templates. It includes:

  • Making the most of your money
  • Types of freelancing
  • How tax works and how it works for you
  • Getting organised to manage your finances
  • VAT: important issues for freelances
  • Improving the process of getting paid
  • Planning for success
  • How not to run out of cash.

Who should attend

Freelances who wish to improve the way in which they handle their finances. No financial training or experience is assumed.

Expected learning outcomes

The workshop aims to provide you with a better understanding of how to plan and organise your finances. You will more clearly understand the importance of good record keeping and how to maintain cash flow along with issues surrounding tax and national insurance.

POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself.

NOTE: if we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap.

 

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand.

All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a couple of days of this date.

Further enquiries

Email: [email protected]
Tel: 07580 348 726

Using data to make more money from freelancing – 1 Dec, London

Posted on

Free workshop for members

The date and time: 1 Dec, 10.30am-4.30pm

The venue

Equity
Guild House
Upper St Martin’s Lane
London
WC2H 9EG

Find out how to use data to run a more productive and profitable freelance business. This one-day workshop will teach you easy-to-use data analysis techniques to improve your freelance business, including better budgeting of both money and time, assessing risk and increasing income.

Apply online by 22 Nov

Workshop content

Successful companies including Tesco, Amazon and Google rely heavily on data analysis to improve their services and expand their businesses and the good news is that individuals can do this too.

This workshop will teach you how to use data to make more money from your freelance business, aiming to give you greater freedom in your finances and choice of work. It includes:

  • Assessing risk when deciding whether to undertake work
  • Building a financial budget (which should include a pension)
  • Building a time budget to make best use of your capacity
  • Estimating how long a piece of work will take to do
  • Estimating and negotiating the cost of a piece of work
  • Producing quotes and naming your price
  • Learning when to sack a client
  • Making buying decisions that ensure every penny is well spent
  • Using data to spot trends and plan how you can benefit from them
  • Using data to drive your business – without being blindly driven by data.

Learning outcomes

  • A better understanding of how to use data for risk assessments, budgeting money and time and choosing work
  • Improved negotiation skills through exploiting data
  • How to use data to spot and act on industry trends.

Tutor: SA Mathieson

POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself.

NOTE: 1. If we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap. 2. We are required to undertake a short equality & diversity survey, which you will need to fill in before or at the workshop. The information provided will be treated in the strictest of confidence and processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and will help in our commitment to E & D.

IMPORTANT: Unfortunately we cannot always offer everyone who applies a place due to high demand. We set up a waiting list and contact people if there are cancellations. If you do NOT receive confirmation that you have secured a place, please do not turn up on the day because we will not be able to admit you. However, please keep applying because we work hard to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to attend at some point.

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand. All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a few days of this date.

Further enquiries

e: [email protected]
t: 07580 348726

WEBINAR – Goal Setting – 12 noon, 30 Nov

Posted on

Easy to enrol - learn from the comfort of your own computer!

12 noon - 1pm, Wed 30 November 2016

Get fired up for 2017 by joining us for this one-hour session in which you will learn some key techniques that will help you set clear goals and stay motivated to achieve them.

ENROL HERE

Content

Having goals in our lives allows us to set direction and helps us make decisions on where to focus our efforts. This webinar aims to help you process your aims, now and in the future, so you can create clear, achievable, compelling goals that you are more likely to realise. The session will include:

  • Defining goals that are meaningful to you that you really want to achieve
  • Getting started and working towards your goals
  • Developing awareness on what factors will help and hinder your efforts
  • Staying motivated until you’ve got what you want.

The format

While you will be able to see and hear the tutors, you will not be visible or audible to them or each other. Nobody will know if you’re still in your PJs! However, you will be able to ask questions, see the questions that others ask and make comments.

The format for this session is approximately 1hr of presentation-style teaching interspersed with questions and answers from participants. We will round up the session with a Q & A session. Depending on how many questions are asked, the session may run longer than 1hr so please set aside 1hr 20mins if you want to stay to participate in the Q & A at the end.

Who should enrol

Those who wish to improve their goal setting and goal achievement capabilities and those who wish to get motivated/re-motivated to achieve their goals. Come on – let’s get creative!

Expected learning outcomes

By the end of this session you will be:

  • More able to define, prioritise and set your goals
  • Understand more about how to go about achieving your goals
  • Better able to stay motivated until you achieve what you want.

Get Noticed! – 29 Nov, London

Posted on

TUC’s Young Workers’ Mont

Free workshop for members

The date and time: 29 Nov, 11.00am to 5.00pm

The venue

Musicians’ Union
60-62 Clapham Road
London
SW9 OJJ

In conjunction with the TUC's Young Workers' Month, this free workshop is aimed at those aged 30 and under. Learn how to stand out from the crowd by writing targeted CVs/profiles that show why you are the right person for each job.

Apply online by 23 Nov

Workshop content

Your CV/career summary/profile is an organic document that should be produced so it hits the right note for each job you are applying for. One size does not fit all! It should be clear, straightforward and deliver an immediate and accessible snapshot of why you are the right candidate.

This workshop aims to give you the tools to assess each opportunity and how best to construct and tailor your CV/career summary/profile (whatever format you use) to get yourself noticed and increase your chances of achieving your objective (e.g., getting an interview/meeting/audition). It includes:

  • Reviewing your CV/career summary document
  • Analysing the function and purpose of these key documents: How that knowledge can help to produce a new document, tailored to specific clients and markets
  • Understanding the fundamentals of effective CV writing
  • Assessing example CVs to help master the do’s and don’ts
  • Identifying key achievements and vital experiences that should be highlighted in your CV
  • Improving your CV so it makes more impact.

Who should attend?

Young members (30 and under) who wish to improve the way they present themselves in writing so that they meet specific objectives, e.g., to get an interview/audition or arrange a meeting.

What should you bring?

The workshop includes a number of practical exercises in which you will get the chance to work individually and in pairs. You will need to bring a hard copy of you CV/career summary document.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the workshop, participants will:

  • Have a clear idea of what an effective CV/career summary document looks like
  • Have made the first steps to update their own
  • Have a greater understanding of how to create individual selling documents with maximum impact
  • Know how to produce a 'selling' document that will support them in trying to secure interviews and/or to open up other work opportunities.

POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself.

NOTE: 1. If we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap. 2. We are required to undertake a short equality & diversity survey, which you will need to fill in before or at the workshop. The information provided will be treated in the strictest of confidence and processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and will help in our commitment to E & D.

IMPORTANT: Unfortunately we cannot always offer everyone who applies a place due to high demand. We set up a waiting list and contact people if there are cancellations. If you do NOT receive confirmation that you have secured a place, please do not turn up on the day because we will not be able to admit you. However, please keep applying because we work hard to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to attend at some point.

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand. All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a few days of this date.

Further enquiries

e: [email protected]
t: 07580 348726

Get the best deal: how to pitch for work and get paid properly – 22 Nov, Liverpool

Posted on

TUC’s Young Workers’ MontIn conjunction with the TUC's Young Workers' Month, this free workshop is aimed at those aged 30 and under

The date and time: 22 Nov, 3.00pm – 6pm

The venue:
The John Lennon Art and Design Building
John Moores University School of Art and Design
(immediately adjacent to the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral)
2 Duckinfield Street
Liverpool
L3 5RD

Apply Online by 16 Nov

Content

3pm to 5pm

This session will help you learn the basics of pitching your work and negotiating fair rates of pay. It includes:

  • Identifying the most likely sources of work
  • Preparing and planning your pitch
  • Delivering your pitch
  • Preparing to negotiate
  • Getting into the right frame of mind
  • Knowing your negotiation limits

5pm to 6pm

Over refreshments you’ll have the opportunity to network with peers and find out more about how your union and the FEU partnership is working to support your career progress. You’ll get a chance to ask questions and learn about the help, information and training available to you including the free training programme that FEU Training provides freelance members with the aim of helping you manage your freelance business from marketing work to handling finances.

Who should attend

Young members (aged 30 and below) who would like to find out more about pitching and presenting and how their union can further support their work in the entertainment industries.

Expected learning outcomes

As a taster session, you will gain a better understanding of:

  • The basic principles of pitching your work
  • The basic principles of effective negotiation
  • You’ll also learn more about your how your union is working to support you and where to get further information.

Tutor: Frances Dredge

POLITE REQUEST: if you are successful in obtaining a place on this workshop and, due to unforeseen circumstances, you are unable to attend, please let us know asap because we have others on the waiting list who we can allocate your place to. If you do not let us know this will disadvantage another member. Also, we may lose the funds that enable us to provide these workshops to all members including yourself.

NOTE: if we were to postpone or cancel this workshop due to unforeseen circumstances (this has happened only twice in five years due to tutor illness and a tube strike), we will be unable to reimburse any costs such as pre-booked travel expenses. If this were to happen in the future, we will email and telephone you as soon as we know that there is a cancellation and attempt to re-schedule the workshop asap.

Apply online

To apply for a place on this free, one-day workshop, please fill in the short application form below. You will need to login or register if you have not done so already so have your Union number to hand.

All events have been over-subscribed to date so successful applicants will be chosen randomly after the cut-off date. We will let you know if your application has been successful within a couple of days of this date.

Further enquiries
e: [email protected]
t: 07914 397 243