A NEW e-course ‘Finance for Freelances’ is now available at www.feutraining.org aimed at helping freelance members tackle the key financial issues necessary to maintain a successful freelance career.

Easy-to-understand, doable at your convenience and filled with practical tips and examples, course modules include:

• What is freelance?
• How tax works for freelances
• How national insurance works
• Keeping records while keeping your sanity
• What you need to know about VAT
• When you need an accountant
• Lifestyle issues
• How to get paid – and chasing late payments
• Insurance issues
• Planning your cash flow in the longer term.

In the pipeline

In the coming months we will be launching several more e-courses tailored to the needs of our freelance members including ‘Marketing your Work’ and ‘Understanding Social Media’. We’ll keep you updated.

How to access ‘Finance for Freelances’

You must be a member of FEU Training (i.e., Equity, MU, NUJ and Writers’ Guild) to gain free access to this e-course.

Go to www.feutraining.org

 If you are already registered on the site:

• Go to courses in the digital learning centre http://www.feutraining.org/digital-learning-centre/ecourses/ and log in to the Finance for Freelances e-course.
• You will need to fill in your profile including equality and diversity data.
• Once you’ve done this, you’re free to work through the course in your own time.

 If you are not registered on the FEU website:

• You will need to register on the site before completing the steps above so have your membership number to hand.

Technical help

If you have problems, please see our FAQs and videos on the course homepage.

IMPORTANT REQUEST

As part of your profile, you are asked to fill in a confidential equality and diversity form. While you do not have to do this, it would be highly advantageous if you do because it is a crucial part of securing the funding that allows us to work together to provide career support for you.

WHO’S AN FEU TRAINING MEMBER?

Equity, the Musicians’ Union, the National Union of Journalists and the Writers’ Guild are working together in this instance under the banner of ‘The Federation of Entertainment Unions’. This enables us to maximize resources to deliver skills development opportunities common to our multi-union members.

Our aim is to help the career progress of our freelance members through the recession and beyond by providing a range of free and low cost blended-learning opportunities.

It’s free for members to join the FEU Training website and there’s a variety of advice and information available to members. To register: go to www.feutraining.org

Further enquiries:

E: [email protected]

T: 07990 504 612

 

 

FEU Training: working together to support your career progress through providing accessible, affordable and relevant learning opportunities.

For up to the minute access to news on developments aimed at helping you follow us @FEUtraining

FEU Training Fixed-Term Contract

PROJECT WORKER, FEU TRAINING

 FIXED-TERM / SELF-EMPLOYED / 8 DAYS PER MONTH / LONDON BASED (or easy access to London where the project is based)

FEU Training is seeking an experienced project worker - self-employed for eight days per month to work on an established skills development project.

The project aims to help freelance members from the project partner unions (Equity, the Musicians’ Union, the National Union of Journalists and the Writers’ Guild) to develop key business skills that help support their career development.

PROJECT WORKER ROLE:

The project worker will report to the FEU Training project manager and, as a key team member, will have a range of responsibilities including:

• Development of a blended learning programme focused on business skills tailored to freelance member needs including classroom-based and e-courses.
• Tutoring and facilitating business courses and workshops
• Development and facilitation of a wide array of verbal, written and digital communication including provision of information and advice; writing news stories, blogs and promotional material; using social media for various purposes and researching and writing case studies
• Developing and managing a range of website content
• Developing and facilitating networking sessions (face-to-face and via the web)
• Public speaking.

REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Demonstrable project work experience
• Excellent verbal, written and digital communication skills with the ability to work and communicate through traditional and new media for a range of purposes
• Tutor who works in one or more of the above entertainment industries (desirable)
• Experience in developing e-learning provision (desirable)
• Experience in developing business skills learning provision (desirable)
• Ability to work through new media (e.g., website content and management and social media).
• Highly organised and motivated self-starter with the ability to work to deadlines
• Positive attitude with willingness to work as part of the team on various tasks to get the job done.

*This role would suit a freelance who works in one of the entertainment industries mentioned. The work schedule has a degree of flexibility assuming that project needs are met. The capacity to work remotely and to travel around England and stay overnight on occasion is necessary.

TO APPLY

Please email you covering letter and CV - to arrive no later than Jul 1^st - to [email protected]. (Subject matter: job application). Please note that applications received after this date will not be considered. Interviews will be held on Jul 11th in London. Those interviewed will be asked to produce relevant evidence of work. The successful candidate will be asked for two references. Further enquiries, tel: 07914 397 243.

Summary

Title: Project Worker, FEU Training

Project title: Getting Down to Business through Recession and Beyond

Remuneration: £225 per day (8 days per month)

Fixed-term project duration: current-Mar 14

FEU TRAINING is currently developing a new training programme that will continue to help freelance members acquire the key business skills that help to gain and maintain work continuity.

Building on the success of recent years, the new project phase (Getting Down to Business through Recession and Beyond, 2012-14) is supported by funds from unionlearn (the learning arm of the Trade Union Congress).

The project has several objectives all focused on facilitating freelance skills development. These include:

• Addressing skills gaps by developing a blended-learning programme including classroom-based training and e-learning facilities
• Helping to overcome freelance barriers to learning including accessibility, affordability and relevancy.
• Continuing to develop our digital platforms to extend and embed an interactive and dynamic communications infrastructure that engages a growing and disparate freelance working community through disseminating a wide range of skills-related IAG and signposting
• Maximising multi-union collaboration to source and maximise additional resources to facilitate sustainability
• Continuing to develop mutually beneficial industry relationships to keep abreast of change and maximise intellectual capital and other resources.

Who’s in FEU Training

Equity, the Musicians’ Union, the National Union of Journalists and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain will continue the successful partnership under the banner of the Federation of Entertainment Unions (FEU).

Coming soon

Look out this summer for the launch of FEU Training’s new course programme including further additions to the digital learning centre.

FEU Training has been successful in its bid to gain more funding to help support the career progression of freelances.

Previously, FEU Training has been running skills development opportunities to help freelances gain the necessary business skills necessary to support their work.

The new project phase will continue to focus on this area with aims of providing a range of affordable, accessible and relevant training opportunities along with up to date information and advice.

Who’s in FEU Training?

The project will be lead by Equity with three other partners including the National Union of Journalists, the Musicians’ Union and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain.

 More information

Now under development, look out for updates on up and coming opportunities.

The March 13 workshop focused around online networking is fully booked. In response to the high demand, an additional workshop has been schedule for March 22.

If FEU Training is successful in securing further funding, more workshops and courses will be developed for the coming year.

“With over 600 applications for 40 places in this instance, we certainly seem to be hitting the nail on the head where content is concerned,” said project manager Frances Dredge. “We hope to be able to continue our work to help our freelance members as there is a huge demand.”

Whether face-to-face or through digital media, initiating and retaining professional contacts is an important part of gaining new work and building work continuity.

With this in mind, this March, FEU Training is to deliver a new workshop ‘Linking In and Meeting Up’ as part of its successful ‘Make Impact’ programme of workshops, which has been running since 2011.

“From the huge number of applications for each workshop we’ve received to date and the positive feedback we're getting, we are hitting the right note regarding the skills development needs of freelances,” said project manager Frances Dredge. “From what our members say, this is because the training provided is specifically targeted to the needs of freelances working in the creative industries as well as being affordable and accessible. In fact, many have told us, this is the only opportunity they have had to take part in on-going adult learning.”

Your input

All training provision is developed with your feedback in mind. If there is a business skills area that you would like to learn more about, please let us know by clicking on 'feedback' or emailing [email protected]. (See below for feedback on the 2011 ‘Make Impact 2 workshop that focused on improving communication).

Jane Campion Hoye EQ/WG
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhPMonniIuc

Frances Crum WG
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G39THpXY11c

Ian Black EQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4mrNjIAL9E

Richard Jones MU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYYzOorSFVA

Beryl Beare EQ WG
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSqAUX3Jqmc

Marco Colombo NUJ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kqp1X46joc

Over 450 freelances applied to attend FEU Training’s ‘Money Matters’ training workshop held in Birmingham and London respectively towards the end of 2011.

The workshop focused on the spectrum of financial issues important for freelances get to grips with to ensure on-going success and accountability including self-employment issues, tax calculations and financial projections:

“Everything covered was useful. Particularly helpful to me was help on getting organised. Thank you for such an excellent day,” said freelance Lorna Baillie.

Due to the huge demand for the workshop, two more workshops have been added to the programme and will be run in the early part of 2012.

What training do you want?

FEU Training will also be developing further training provision based on member demand. If you would like to learn more about a particular area in business skills, please let us know by emailing: [email protected]

Today it’s National Freelance Day. Launched by PCG in 2009, the day focuses on the range of different aspects entailed in working freelance aiming to add credibility to a crucial method of working in the UK.

Recent figures released by Kingston University and founders PCG show that the number of freelances in the UK now totals more than 1.56m or one in 20 in the UK workforce – up from the previous figure of 1.4m in 2008.

“This Government recognises the valuable contribution that freelances make to the economy and, as more and more people choose to join your ranks, you have all our support,” says Prime Minister David Cameron.

For more info

Google ‘National Freelance Day’ and you’ll find a range of information and advice that could be helpful to you. “As freelancers we have to wear many hats. And if you don’t wear the business hat, you’re going to get rained on,” says author Dan Pink.

Much of the information, which includes free guides and booklets, focuses on the business side of freelancing so it’s worth a surf to see what might be relevant to you.

Over 40 freelances from the NUJ, Equity, Musicians’ Union and Writers’ guild attended the ‘Make Impact 2’ workshop in London recently.

Focusing on improving communication to a make better and more long-lasting impression on clients and contacts, the workshop included both tutorials and practical exercises to enhance learning: “Not only was it informative and well balanced but it was also fun and one left on a happy high,” said Writers’ Guild member Beryl Beare.

The workshop was part of a series of free workshops that FEU Training is running to help creative freelances improve the key business skills that help support their career progress.

“You often hear ‘communications’ described as a ‘soft skill’ but it’s actually challenging to communicate effectively on a consistent basis,” said FEU project manager Frances Dredge. “The workshop set about highlighting and demonstrating the range of different communication styles and methods that can be used to meet various objectives."

 

The next in the series of the free FEU Training workshops is ‘Make Impact 2’, which covers those all important communication skills that can make the difference between success and failure.

This one-day workshop aims to help creative freelances improve the way they communicate with current and prospective clients through teaching and role play.

TO BOOK

Email [email protected] by Sept 7 with your name, contact details and union membership number. Don’t miss the deadline as we have been totally inundated with applications in the past.