Plans to launch the USW Graduate Freelancer Agency, managed by Richie Turner and the Startup Stiwdio, are gathering pace. Springboard Intern Millie Sutherland-O’Gara has been recruited to support the initiative and is reaching out to students past and present.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Millie explains, “there’s certainly a call for it. Many local businesses have historically wanted to hire grads and have approached staff for recommendations, but usually staff are too busy to manage these requests. Now we will have somewhere concrete to direct them and a platform for graduates to find contracts and market themselves, all in one place.”
The Agency is set to launch in summer 2022, and the search is on to sign up the first cohort of creative graduates.
“If you are a creative industries graduate (or set to graduate this summer) then we want to hear from you.
The creative industries are known for potentially toxic work practices: crunch timescales, exploitation, underselling. With the Stiwdio Freelancer Agency, we have a real chance to address those issues- and prove that modern creatives can deliver content on time, on their own terms, with no need for such practices. It marks a real step forward.”
All previous graduates and alumni are invited to apply for the agency, which will take on marketing and promotion and procure clients from all sectors of the creative sphere for their freelancers. Freelancers in other sectors such as computer programming, cyber security, sports coaching and therapies will be invited to join later in the year.
The Startup Stiwdio has already had great success with its Cardiff and Newport incubators, as graduate businesses have a base for operations and guidance from its dedicated business support services.
The Freelancer Agency will be yet another channel for USW grad entrepreneurs to market themselves, and somewhere for those fresh out of uni to establish a grounding in the world of business.
“The care doesn’t stop when you graduate, and that’s one of the special things about USW. A lot of institutions are happy to release you into the wild the second they hand over the degree certificate, but that’s not enough. This initiative creates a bridge between university and industry, and after all, that’s why a lot of us chose USW in the first place!”
To sign up and register your interest, go to:
Cofrestru gweithwyr llawrydd graddedig PDC
https://forms.gle/HzZWXY8xa9EPqxCH6
For more information, contact
millicent.sutherland-ogara@southwales.ac.uk//
