Free creative industry workshops announced for West Yorkshire

Free workshops will be available for businesses and entrepreneurs working in the creative industries across West Yorkshire.

The sessions will be held at Leeds Media Centre, located in Chapeltown, and are organised by Unity Enterprise in collaboration with the Black Business Consortium West Yorkshire.

The workshops will cover three key areas for creative industry businesses: branding and marketing, artificial intelligence (AI), and sales.

The branding and marketing workshop, which ran on 14 May and will continue on 4 June and 2 July, will guide participants in developing a strong brand identity. It will also cover search engine optimisation, social media strategies, and digital content marketing techniques.

The Artificial Intelligence for Creatives sessions are scheduled for 21 May, 18 June, and 9 July. They aim to help entrepreneurs incorporate AI into their business processes. These sessions will demonstrate how to automate repetitive tasks and offer support for creating tailored AI tools and apps.

The sales workshops, offered on 11 and 25 June, will address developing effective customer relationships and enhancing sales skills. They will particularly focus on value-based selling techniques.

Unity Enterprise, a not-for-profit subsidiary of Unity Homes and Enterprise, manages Leeds Media Centre along with two other business hubs in Chapeltown.

Adrian Green, Unity Enterprise Manager, commented, "We are excited to be hosting specialist workshops for businesses and entrepreneurs in the creative sector, which includes fashion, advertising, music, film, digital, and tech. As well as equipping participants with new skills, they are designed to foster collaboration and unlock new growth opportunities."

"Leeds Media Centre is playing an increasingly prominent role in the city's business activities in UE's 25th anniversary year. It is a pleasure to make its first-class facilities available for this initiative."

Cedric Boston, Chief Executive of Unity Homes and Enterprise, said, "It is tremendous to be working with the Black Business Consortium West Yorkshire to assist aspiring entrepreneurs and fledgling businesses in the creative industries achieve their business potential. We have decades of accumulated knowledge and experience supporting and enabling people living in BME communities to start their own sustainable business."

"In our view, business talent is everywhere but, for various reasons, people in deprived areas are often denied the opportunity to showcase theirs. Ventures such as the free workshops can play a significant part in helping us to reach out to people in these communities and change lives for the better."

Unity Housing Association, which formed Unity Enterprise in 2000, operates across several Leeds areas and manages more than 1,386 properties for tenants from all communities and ethnic backgrounds. Unity Enterprise currently provides 142 affordable business units used by over 80 diverse businesses across its three business centres in Leeds.

Unity Employment Services, set up by the association in 2011, has supported thousands of people into jobs, training, and voluntary opportunities since its establishment. Leeds Media Centre will be open to participants for these workshops in the coming weeks.