From Liz Waugh, Exeter 383262, May 23, 2007

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE TOURISM AND CREATIVE SKILLS FOR SUCCESS PROJECT.

A few places remain on a course to develop would-be entrepreneurs in the creative industries staged by the Tourism and Creative Skills for Success (TACSS) project with Plymouth College of Art and Design.

The free course, which starts on 30^th May, is aimed at freelancers, artists and sole traders, as well as fledgling companies. It is designed to help people understand how to capitalise on opportunities, gain commercial awareness and develop their own skills to make their creative business more successful.

The course covers all aspects of entrepreneurship from networking to funding opportunities, legal issues, how to promote, and most importantly, how to find your market and sell your own work. Accredited through the Open College Network, it lasts 6 weeks, is entirely free and open to anyone with a background or interest in the creative industry sector.

Rosie Bates, Training and Skills Manager for the Devon Tourism Skills Network which manages TACSS, said: "We decided to offer this course as there are many creative practitioners in Devon working on their own, often alongside another job, who would love to become full time artists but don't have the skills or confidence to take that step.

"Developing business expertise alongside your own creative skills is essential for a small business. We are already seeing great results from the first batch of students who attended the initial course. I'd encourage anyone thinking about starting out on their own to spend just a few hours with us and you could really profit from it."

One of the first students to undertake the course was Nicola Hurst. Originally from Plymouth, she studied art and design at PCAD before progressing to jewellery design at Middlesex Polytechnic. After working in a variety of jobs, in 1994 Nicola decided to branch out on her own in Hertfordshire where she had settled. Working from a shed in the bottom of the garden, she started out in business.

In 2005 Nicola decided to relocate to Plymouth where she joined the first Developing Creative Entrepreneurs programme at PCAD. She said: "The course was perfect for me - particularly the networking opportunities and focus on my own business practice. Returning to any town is difficult, but the skills I developed and contacts I made have really helped me move my business forward and establish myself in the city."

Nicola opened her new gallery, Nicola Hurst Designer Jewellery in Plymouth in October 2006. Having her own outlet allows Nicola to showcase her own designs along side a range of other British designer jewellery and craft, made exclusively for the gallery. She also has a workshop at the back of the building, which means she can continue her design and commission work on site, as well as offer studio space to other designers and students.

For more information on the course, please contact Debbie Payne at PCAD on 01752 203433, dpayne@pcad.ac.uk or visit www.tacss.co.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS:

For more information please contact the media and PR office on 01392 383262 or Liz Waugh on 01752 847135. Images of Nicola are also available.