Category: Free Workshops

To help you develop your business in good times and bad, we’ve launched a series of FREE one-day workshops throughout the UK. Look out for emails from your unions and from FEU Training. Workshop details below.

Build your confidence – 29 Jan, London

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Free workshop for members

The date and time: 29 Jan 2016, 10.30am - 4.30pm

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

Apply Online by 20 Jan

Boost your creative success

Workshop Content

Even the most positive, go-getting people sometimes experience a dip in confidence – especially when they’ve experienced a set back or are facing a particularly daunting challenge. In this one-day workshop, we’ll help you develop and maintain confidence whatever the circumstance. It includes:

  • Defining the key characteristics of confident people
  • Reviewing areas in which you want to become more confidence
  • Exploring strategies for developing confidence in any situation
  • Planning to become more confident
  • Getting support so that you remain confident.

Expected learning outcomes

  • An understanding of what confidence is
  • An understanding of how to develop confidence for every situation
  • Increased ability to maintain confidence whatever happens.

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: 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

Finance for Freelances – 21 Jan, 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:
21 Jan 2016, 10.30-4.30

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

Tutor: David Thomas

Apply online by 11 Jan 2016

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
e: [email protected]
t: 07710 240585

 

Tools for Goal Setting – 11 Dec, London

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Free workshop for members

The date and time: 11 December, 10.30am - 4.30pm

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

What do you want to achieve in 2016? This workshop will give you tools to process all your aims, now and in the future, so you can create clear, achievable and compelling goals.

Apply online by 1 December

Achieve your goals in 2016

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

Blogging for Creative Freelances – 4 Dec, Newcastle

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Free workshop for creative freelance members

The date and time: 4 Dec, 11.30am-5.30pm

The venue:
Dance City
Temple Street
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE1 4BR

Everybody tells you that you must have a website and you must have a blog but nobody tells you how – or why. In this workshop you will learn the key steps to creating your blog but, more importantly, what you can use one for and how it will become an important part of your creative work.

That’s true whether you’re a writer, journalist, musician or actor: you are already creating work that blogs can showcase and you will benefit from reaching audiences through a well constructed, targeted blog. This workshop will tell you how.

Apply Online by 24 Nov

Workshop Content

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

  • the choices you need to make before setting up your blog
  • what exactly to blog about
  • how to reach an audience that matters for all your creative work
  • what to do with that audience – how to engage with them
  • using your blog to make your website fresh
  • creating new material and reasons to contact your clients.

Who should attend?

Those who have thought about writing a blog but are not sure how or really certain why it will help and those who have already started blogging but need help in making their blogs more focused and effective.

Expected learning outcomes

  • a better understanding of what blogs can and cannot do for you
  • knowledge of how to quickly create and regularly update blogs
  • a better understanding of how to exploit your blog and build your audience
  • 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: 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: 07710 240585

Write that Book and Get It Published! – 26 Nov, London

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Free workshop for members

 The date and time
 26 November 2015, 10.30am to 4.30pm

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

Whether you work in the field of performance, music, journalism or other forms of writing, many freelances have written - or intend to write - a book. It may be non-fiction, based on your expertise, skills and experience. Or, it could be a fiction title: that novel you’ve always wanted to write. Getting a book published has a reputation for being difficult and this puts people off trying. The truth is that it is challenging but thousands of books are published each year. Why can't one of them be yours?

Apply online by 16 November

Workshop Content

This one-day workshop aims to give you a realistic idea of how to go about writing your first book, and how and where to sell it. It covers:

  • What’s your idea? Will it make a book?
  • Your markets – know them and exploit them
  • The writing plan – discipline and practice to get the book written
  • Networks and networking – being part of a writing community
  • Selling you the writer – who you are and what you offer
  • Selling the idea – the synopsis
  • Who’s buying? - Agents, publishers, self-publishing and e-publishing

Who should attend?

Anyone who has written, is writing, or wants to write a book and sell it (you should have at least a basic idea of the book that you want to write).

Learning outcomes

You should expect to leave this workshop understanding where better to focus your book/book idea; how to fit the writing around your lifestyle; how to present and prepare you and your book for market.

Tutor: Sue Walker

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: 07710 240585

Get the best deal: how to pitch for work and get paid properly – 25 Nov, London

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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: 25 Nov, 10.30-3.00pm

Lunch included

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

Apply Online by 15 Nov

Content

10.30am-1.30pm

This session will help you learn the basics of pitching your work and negotiating fair rates of pay. This workshop 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
  • How your union can help

The session will include practical exercises to provide participants with the opportunity to try out what you learn in a safe environment.

1.30-3.00pm

Lunch will be provided along with the opportunity to 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 find more about the help, information and training available to you.

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

Free learning opportunities for you!

As a member of Equity, the MU, the NUJ or the Writers’ Guild, you are entitled to free access of our digital learning centre to find a range of facilities to help you launch and maintain your creative career. This includes quick tips on key business skills, Q & As, WordPress tutorials, a training blog and a range of ecourses such as:

  • Business skills for freelances
  • Building your brand
  • Building your web presence
  • Diversifying your portfolio
  • Finance for freelances
  • Introduction to social media
  • Marketing for freelances
  • Overcoming freelance challenges
  • Stress busting for freelances.

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: 07580 348726

Get Fit for Freelancing – 20 Nov, London

Posted on

TUC’s Young Workers’ Mont

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

 The date and time: 20 November, 10.30am-4.30pm

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

Apply online by 10 Nov 2015

Workshop Content

While working in the entertainment industries is a privilege and joy, getting your foot in the door and maintaining work continuity can be difficult - even for the most talented of people.

This workshop will examine the key challenges that most freelances experience at some point or another to help you develop good habits and strategies so that you are more likely to survive and thrive as a creative freelance.

We will look at how to establish useful boundaries between home and work, how to get more organised and how important it is to develop good support networks.

We’ll discuss motivation and how to use your goals and other strategies to help you stay engaged and proactive.

We’ll talk about developing your resilience, building confidence and learning to focus on what’s really important to get you to where you want to go.

Who should attend?

This course is aimed at members of 30 and under who are starting out or fairly early on in their career.

Expected Learning outcomes

  • An overview of why boundaries matter and how to create them
  • An understanding of the importance of setting good goals
  • Tips and ideas for developing your resilience and confidence
  • An understanding of the importance of organisation and planning
  • Sign posting to further resources available key topics that will help create and support work continuity.


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: 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: 07580 348726

Dealing with bullying and harassment – 17 Nov, London

Posted on

Free workshop for members

The date and time:
17 Nov, 2015; 2-5pm

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

In this three-hour session, we provide information about bullying and harassment at work and explore ways in which creatives can deal with such circumstances if they should arise.

Apply online by 8 Nov, 2015

Workshop Content

Dealing with what is often a sensitive topic for individuals, this workshop aims to provide people with a safe and confidential environment to learn more about bullying and harassment and how to deal with such situations.

A mixture of information provision and discussion, the workshop will provide attendees with the opportunity to share and explore their experiences as part of the learning process as well as work on individual challenges through group exercises. However, nobody is obliged to share their experiences and will be equally welcome to listen and observe if they find this more helpful.

The session includes an overview of the issues relating to bullying and harassment including:

  • The conditions that make bullying and harassment possible
  • The purpose, values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviour that bullies display
  • Why bullies make their choices and what makes them maintain their behaviour
  • Exploration of methods to help break the pattern of bullying.

Who should attend?

Freelances who want to find out more about bullying and harassment and how they can deal with these problems if they arise.

Expected learning outcomes

  • A greater awareness of what bullying and harassment entails
  • A better understanding of how to deal with this situation including actions that you can take and where to get further help.

Tutor: Anne-Marie Quigg (author of Bullying in the Arts).

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: 07580 348726

Creative Productivity – 6 Nov, Bristol

Posted on

Free workshop for members

The date and time:

6 Nov, 10.30am-4.30pm

The venue:
Bristol Old Vic
King Street
BS1 4ED

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 28th Oct 2015

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: 07580 348726

 

Build your confidence – 23 Oct, London

Posted on

Free workshop for members

The date and time: 23 Oct, 10.30am - 4.30pm

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

Apply Online by 14 Oct

Boost your creative success

Workshop Content

Even the most positive, go-getting people sometimes experience a dip in confidence – especially when they’ve experienced a set back or are facing a particularly daunting challenge. In this one-day workshop, we’ll help you develop and maintain confidence whatever the circumstance. It includes:

  • Defining the key characteristics of confident people
  • Reviewing areas in which you want to become more confidence
  • Exploring strategies for developing confidence in any situation
  • Planning to become more confident
  • Getting support so that you remain confident.

Expected learning outcomes

  • An understanding of what confidence is
  • An understanding of how to develop confidence for every situation
  • Increased ability to maintain confidence whatever happens.

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: 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: 07580 348726