A week ago, we were in the middle of delivering Social Media training across Wales, bumping elbows instead of hugging or shaking hands and handwashing at every opportunity. It seems a world away now, and I know that many of you, like us, have suddenly been plunged into a very different working environment.
I thought it might be helpful to share some resources we’ve become aware of, as well as outline some of the changes we’ll be making to our training provision.
Freelancers and business owners
Those of you who are freelance or who run your own businesses may well have found your work being cancelled or postponed as a result of the outbreak. You may now be facing an uncertain future financially. I know the Government has made some announcements today, but these will affect different people in different ways. The NUJ has put together a guide for freelancers, which remains a useful roundup of the available support: https://www.nuj.org.uk/documents/coronavirus–advice-for-freelances/, and it’s worth keeping an eye on the NUJ’s website for updates.
You might also find it useful to sign up to two excellent freelance newsletters, which offer advice and work opportunities for freelancers. These are The Professional Freelancer (sign up here: https://theprofessionalfreelancer.substack.com/), which has already published an excellent roundup for freelancers in response to the crisis, which you can read here: https://theprofessionalfreelancer.substack.com/p/stress-testing-your-freelancing-against. The other is the excellent Freelance Writing Jobs roundup, which you can sign up to here: https://mailchi.mp/69d207801f23/freelancewritingjobs and which offers many opportunities for work.
Staff
Many staff now find themselves working from home, sometimes with children to care for as well. There are health and wellbeing issues involved, and it will take time to adjust and develop a new routine.
Andrew Draper runs his own news and translation business and has been home working for much of his working life. Read his excellent blog here https://nordicinternational.co.uk/coronavirus-working-from-home-10-useful-tips/, which shares his wisdom and advice on effective home working.
Other staff journalists now find themselves in the role of key workers reporting on the unfolding crisis. The NUJ is offering ongoing support and advice to journalists, which you can access here: https://www.nuj.org.uk/work/covid-19-information/. The government guidelines on safe working are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/guidance-for-employers-and-businesses-on-coronavirus-covid-19.
Equally, many of us are now looking to take part in lengthy online meetings and training. One of our excellent trainers David Thomas has been advising us about screen time and concentration spans as we adapt or build new training courses for you. You can read his take on the situation here: https://davidthomasmedia.com/webinars-coronavirus/. From our side we are keen to adapt our provision and ensure we are responding to your needs, so please do get in touch with your questions and training requests.
Training
And on that note… although we’re confined to quarters, Zena and I are working hard to adapt our training to ensure you can continue to build on skills and fill gaps to help you rise to the challenges ahead.
We have already started discussions about replacing our planned Social Media Roadshow sessions on Vertical Video and Stories as a free Webinar. We hope to have dates to offer on that soon, so please keep an eye on our website and emails.
We’re also pleased to offer a free Webinar version of our Survive and Thrive for Freelancers training next week (26th March). This, as well as offering the usual guidance on finances, tax, pitching and getting paid, will also give up-to-the-minute advice about the latest support for those affected by Covid-19 and how to access it. Print journalist Claire Rees will join the discussion to offer her perspective on print freelancing. (If you signed up for the one-day version of this, you will have a separate email about us regarding refunds).
We are mindful that your training needs are likely to have altered very suddenly, and we’re keen to respond. We suspect Mental Health, Wellbeing, Home Working and Financial/ Freelance Advice have all become more pressing needs.
We are hoping to introduce new courses on Comms Crisis Management and Reporting on Trauma Survivors. We are also looking at ways to adapt our most popular courses, from Podcasting to Strategic Communications, from Shoot & Edit on an iPhone to Data Journalism, from Coaching and Mentoring to Writing for the Web. If you have specific requests for these courses or anything else, please get in touch.
Community
Finally, I think one of the main things we are all likely to miss from both our work and training is the ability to meet each other and socialise. As of this evening, we have set up a new Facebook group for Welsh journalists (both staff and freelance), communications workers and journalism students, which you are welcome to join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/143771816995957/. We hope this will be a place to network with each other over the coming months.
Wishing you all the very best,
Rachel Howells
Project Manager
Zena Chandler-Burnell
Project Coordinator