Culture, creativity and heritage makes Torbay a better place in which to live, work, learn and visit. Torbay Culture was set up with support from Arts Council England to provide strategic leadership for the local culture sector, and progress the cultural strategy which is focused around people and place.
SECTOR SUPPORT & SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
Training and advice offered by different organisations:
Fundraising & Finance
Crowdfunding for Social Enterprises and Charities from the School for Social Entrepreneurs
The Skills Toolkit courses in numeracy from The National Careers Service - various providers offering courses at introductory, intermediate or advanced levels
Digital skills
The Skills Toolkit from The National Careers Service - various providers with courses at introductory, intermediate or advanced levels
Creating Digital Content programme from FutureLearn and Leeds University
The Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership often runs support sessions. Keep an eye on their website for the latest opportunities.
Audience insights and marketing support
The Audience Agency provides sessions and has webinars open in early 2021.
Other skills
Business & Intellectual Property (IP) Centre from the British Library includes a range of webinars on topics such as financial planning, marketing, and intellectual property.
TDA (Torbay Economic Development Company Limited) provides advice and support for small businesses in Torbay and beyond. Check TDA’s Enterprise South West website for the latest courses
The Federation of Entertainment Unions (FEU Training) provides a wealth of support. Click their website for courses, advice and guidance. Especially relevant to members of Equity, The Musicians’ Union, The National Union of Journalists and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain.
Recently concluded programmes:
Resilience and recovery support from Torbay Culture
During early 2021 we organised one-to-one advice sessions to help people responsible for managing culture and heritage in the Torbay local area. We also provided advice surgeries for individual creative practitioners. The sessions for people managing organisations concluded with a group workshop on 30 March.
These sessions, part of Torbay Culture’s local sector support, were possible thanks to the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage managed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund on behalf of the DCMS.
When funding or support is available we will provide this format of support again in the future.
‘Great Place, Great People’ from Torbay Culture
Through Torbay’s Great Place Scheme, we invested in the skills and knowledge of the people that manage the culture in the local area. A range of programmes and opportunities were made available, supporting different sections of the creative and heritage community in Torbay. In addition to professional development, activities provided the chance to network with others working in the local area. Among the programmes offered was a ‘Great Place, Great People’ peer to peer leadership programme during 2019/20. Leaders from Torbay’s anchor culture sector organisations were invited to participate in a series of bespoke group leadership sessions. The programme provided a space to discuss shared challenges, with a focus on mutual support, free-thinking and positive action. The programme was designed and delivered specifically for Torbay’s cultural sector by local leadership experts Transition Tradition Ltd. Organisations represented on the programme included:
Artizan Gallery | Cockington Court | Doorstep Arts | English Riviera Geopark Organisation | Kents Cavern | Lucky 7 Club | Paignton Picture House Trust | Princess Theatre | Torbay Council Culture & Events | Torbay Libraries | Torquay Museum | Torre Abbey
Image credit: Diego Hernandez | Unsplash
““I love doing this. It feels personally empowering and professionally positive. Thank you.”
– Participant”