Are you a creative freelancers or working in a creative Industry across the Solent region, and seeking to launch, upskill or further your career in the Creative sector?

The Creative Management Skills Bootcamp is based on a free two-week intensive programme focusing on skills needed in the creative workforce: self-leadership - entrepreneurship - digital marketing - responsible management.

Learn to polish your CV and portfolio, and create business models and business connections alongside a focus on your self-care and resilience.

12 day - 09.30 - 14.30 training in person and online;
60 hours learning;
Guided mentoring and work shadowing;
A financial contribution to travel;
No prior knowledge of business and management is necessary.

Skills Bootcamps are free to those unemployed, self-employed, or looking to move company for a promotion/alternative role.
If the Bootcamp is being used as training within your company then you will need to make a contribution to the £6,000 fee - 10% for SMEs (£600), 30% for larger Companies (£1800).

You must meet all of the following eligibility criteria:

You must be 19 years of age or older
Maintained residency in the UK for the last 3 years and have evidence of the right to work in the UK
Not attended another Skills Bootcamp in the last financial year
Committed to engagement in 60 hours of training
Accept mentoring support and work shadowing of up to 8 hours
Provide a portfolio that demonstrates your skills and experience
Be open to relevant job opportunities across the Solent region if unemployed

A right to work check will take place on the first day of the course and must be completed in order to continue with the course.

As a result of attending the Bootcamp participants must be able to provide evidence of the following; evidence of a job interview, new responsibilities within their employment, or a plan to gain new contracts - dependent on their employment status.

The Creative Management Skills Bootcamp is one of a suite of Skills Bootcamps funded by Solent Partners.

The programme has a host of specialists delivering workshops alongside creatives and guest speakers from across the industry. Successful applicants will receive work shadowing and mentoring opportunities as part of the programme.

Forthcoming dates: Cohort 5: Dates to be announced

Vivi Markatos - Illustrator and Animator and
Business Owner of Blue Bear Studios

Vivi Markatos participated in our two-week Skills Bootcamp in Creative Management and has gone on to set up Blue Bear Studios. A talented illustrator, Vivi specialises in illustrating children's books but is also an award-winning animator.

"I was lacking a lot of business knowledge and terminology so I was very excited to join the course. It was unique, it had a lot of creative aspects, and it was interactive – it really helped my confidence.”

Alice Le Page - Museum & Heritage Sector Support Specialist
Business Owner of the Brightside

Alice works in the Museum and Heritage Sector, attended our first Bootcamp and has started up her new Business - The Brightside. “The Skills Bootcamp gave me a lot of confidence, time to think and the motivation to really focus on my vision and go for it.

“My advice to anyone considering enrolling is: Just do it!”

How you will learn:

The learning on the Skills Bootcamp involves a total of 60 hours:

10 days of training in person to develop creative management skills (Know yourself, innovate your business and embrace change, build relationships, be responsible);
2 days of support online to work through your business plans and complete key assessment tasks;
Inspired by ‘expert witness’ examples of practice and guest speakers from the creative economy;
In-class interactive exercises that support shaping your business and goals;
Focus on digital skills development to promote yourself and your business;
One-to-one mentor support towards employment and business development;
Access to work shadowing and networking opportunities;
Access to Career Advice to develop your CV and interview and pitching skills;
Online materials and cohort integration.

10 face - to - face learning sessions

You will take part in 10 in-person learning sessions, where our experts will guide you through the programme and two workshops online.

Mentors - Work shadowing

You will have mentoring sessions and opportunities to work-shadow.

Session facilitators and careers advisors:

You will meet the following experts and guest speakers on the Bootcamp:

Claire Sambook is a University of Portsmouth lecturer in The Faculty of Creative and Cultural Industries and author of Creative Portsmouth. She is a founder of a new studio at Ankle Deep, The Dockyard, Portsmouth. Ankle Deep is an experimental space that enables industry and practitioners to work on live projects collaboratively with creative students. Claire has extensive networks in the Solent area linking into the creative sector.
Gemma Nichols is a board member of Portsmouth Creates and provides critical sector and employer perspectives in developing the entrepreneurial ecosystem for creatives.
Amy Doyle is an experienced event manager, trainer and deliverer on entrepreneurship softskills and productivity development. She is founder of The Lark Network providing 1:1 support, training and events for women-led startups with a focus on those facing additional barriers and members of the LQBTQIA+ community;
Leila DeLara is a Senior Lecturer of Enterprise with expertise in delivery to creative industry students within the Faculty of Cultural and Creative Industries particularly around business development, digital technologies and pedagogies for engagement;
Amy Hopkins is a Chartered Accountant and Senior Teaching Fellow in Accounting and Finance. She specialises in integrating employability skills into the classroom, with a focus on addressing social barriers to entry into professional fields.
Dr Georgiana Busoi is a Principal Lecturer in Marketing and has delivered training to entrepreneurs including marketing, sales and building a brand identity;
Ze Zook is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing working with multiple businesses of all sizes across a range of industries including the creative industries; Ze provides strategy and business advice in digital marketing;
Eilish Gorse is an experienced enterprise educator delivering development across the University of Portsmouth for Start-up and broader enterprise skills. She is a key member of The Enterprise Programme delivery team;
Dr Zoe Dann is an experienced and specialist applied entrepreneurship enterprise educator managing and leading in start-up and product development.
Jessica Dance is an Artist and Coach, helping Creative Entrepreneurs build their business. https://www.jessicadance.com
Jazzy Olive is a transdisciplinary Designer, Researcher, Lecturer & Musician.
Stef Dogan is the founder of Founder of Goly Natural
Paul Gonella is a photographer, filmmaker and teacher, and Co-founder & Director of Strong Island
Paul Coverdale is the Co-Founder at The Pollinators
Rachel O’Reilly is a Marketing consultant at Morph PR
Simon Terry - Brand and Marketing Director of Anglepoise
Hannah Murray, The Beautiful Mind Coach
Sarah Madden - Relationship Manager, Combined Arts, Arts Council England

Bootcamp session dates and content:

This programme will be at the University of Portsmouth.

Welcome to the programme

Welcome session: Friday (online session)

Know Yourself

What's my creative purpose: Monday (in-person session)
Personal effectiveness - leading yourself: Tuesday (in-person session)
Building your brand and value: Wednesday (in-person session)

Innovate Your Business and Embrace Change

Understanding the market and opportunity: Thursday (in-person session)
Creative business - money, funding and risk: Friday (in-person session)

Building Relationships

Consumer insights and professional selling: Monday (in-person session)
Digital marketing for creative business: Tuesday (in-person session)
Creative practice and networks: Wednesday (in-person session)

Being Responsible

Social Responsibility for your creative business: Thursday (in-person session)

Accelerating your creative business

Accelerating your creative business: Friday (in-person session)
Planning for growth: Friday x 2 (online)

Additional sessions

Work shadow (up to 4 hours)
Mentor meet-ups (up to 8 hours)

Interested in attending?

Our next Bootcamp dates are to be announced. Please leave us your details registering your interest if you would like to be considered and we'll send you an application form.

You must be able to clearly demonstrate a passion and commitment for a career in the creative industries by providing evidence of one or more of the following:

Working on previous projects or creating outputs
Seeking roles and work in the creative industries
Creative skills relevant to the industry

After eligibility checks and approval is given, participants will have their place confirmed on the cohort.

Creative Management Skill Bootcamp is committed to diversity and equality of opportunity in all aspects of its work. We particularly welcome applications from those who identify as being from a minority ethnic background to support our aim to create a more inclusive and diverse workforce, as this demographic is currently underrepresented across the creative industries.

What to put on your application form:

The following are useful ways to describe your interest, experience and motivation that show that you will benefit from the course.

1. Outline your previous creative projects and relevant experience

Provide dates and the nature of the projects (subject matter, medium, target audience, your contribution, collaborators, the outputs); Provide a link to your portfolio or websites that show your work or email photos or show reels if they are not accessible via the internet;

2. Describe the roles or work that you are seeking in the creative industry

Describe the job roles that you have been seeking; Describe projects that you are looking to develop within the industry;

3. Outline your creative skills and give examples

Outline the sort of skills that you have that support you in your creative practice e.g. 3D modelling, graphic design, illustration, photography.

Please contact us if you need any support with your application businesssupport@port.ac.uk

Applicant information:

Applicants will need to provide evidence of their right to remain in the UK. Failure to provide appropriate documentation may result in the training placement being withdrawn.

All successful applicants must attend a mandatory 1-hour online onboarding session in preparation for the Bootcamp. Further details will be announced closer to the time.

For any more information

Please contact the Business Support team at the University of Portsmouth by email: businesssupport@port.ac.uk

Solent Partners has successfully secured funding from the Department for Education (DfE) to support the running of Skills Bootcamps in the Solent region. This funding will boost the Solent's workforce, ensuring employers have access to new talent, and individuals acquire the skills to get the type of jobs that they aspire to.

Creative photography is supplied by Claire Sambrook www.clairesambrook.com

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Vivi Markatos - Illustrator and Animator and Business Owner of Blue Bear Studios

Alice Le Page - Museum & Heritage Sector Support Specialist Business Owner of the Brightside