Need guidance on how to work out your in-house training and staff development needs? Looking for someone who knows what’s new skills and courses are on offer in Higher Education and their relevance to your creative enterprise?

Answer ‘yes’ to either of these questions and you ought to note the name and contact details of Stephanie Goodwin – the one-time post-production manager who is now working for the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFC) as its Creative Industries Intermediary for Bristol and the surrounding areas.

Stephanie’s role is to offer free professional insight and advice to help creative businesses of all types to define the skills they need to keep pace in a fast-changing sector, and to find the right Higher Education training solution. The work is part of the HEFC’s Higher Skills Project whereby employers are helped to provide flexible training for their staff and empolyees can work towards university-level awards as part of their professional development. All of the SW’s universities have signed up for the scheme, by making available a variety of training opportunities – from workplace seminars to tailor-made courses.

Stephanie, who is based at Bath Spa University, says: “Whether your business needs to keep up-to-date with the latest industry developments or to expand into new markets, universities can provide the right training to meet your needs. Investing in people is the key to the development of a healthy business. By offering training and development opportunities to staff, businesses create a dynamic working environment that attracts the best people, improves staff retention and enables the business to stay one step ahead of the game and grow”.

For more information about the Higher Skills Project locally, contact: Stephanie Goodwin on 01225 876211 or send her an e-mail: .