Last year I announced Jobplot as a new creative jobs board for the West Midlands. The site’s now been rethought and redesigned. It now has:
- Talent profiles – if you’re a freelancer or run a company working in the creative sector (arts/culture/architecture/film/design/new media) then get yourself a free profile so people can find you and maybe even give you some work
- Jobs board – self-explanatory
- Opportunities board – where you can find/post info on training programmes, funding, tenders, volunteering and the like
We launched quietly last week but already have (in no particular order) Women in Theatre, Meshed Media, Fullrange, Bright Space, Talis, Tomorrow People, Stickee, Dice Productions, Substrakt, Ryan DC, The Space Studio, Radio To Go, Ryan Killeen, Pikx Imaging, Created in Birmingham, Talk About Local, Adhere, Supercool, IE, Punch, Timelapse Movie Company, Creative Alliance and Marieanne Delaney.
Some of those are currently hiring.
What’s the idea?
When we set up Jobplot originally it was because we wanted to connect good people with good jobs. We’ve since set our sights a little higher.
For example, I can’t find a decent list of local illustrators anywhere. Or scriptwriters. Or sculptors, photographers or web designers. If I want to find someone then I have to either ask around or head for Google. Neither’s ideal and I’ve heard plenty of stories about companies working with others outside the region simply because they couldn’t find anyone closer to home.
Then there are the opportunities for funding and training, the tenders for work and all the other things that get circulated around certain email lists and message boards but go no further. Often the agencies and organisations would love for more people to hear about what they’re offering – people are just too hard to reach.
The idea is for Jobplot to try and solve a few of those problems.
It won’t be yet another directory though. We’ll make sure of that. To some extent we’re taking a leaf out of the books of Wired Sussex, Bristol Media and Manchester Digital, but we’re not copying them exactly.
Other things
Jobplot’s still being developed. We’ve got a to-do list as long as yer arm and a slate of things planned for Phase 2 (being launched in the new year). We’re keen to hear about any improvements that need to be made, so if you come across anything then please let us know.
In the long run, the idea is for Jobplot to sustain itself – ie, make a bit of money. In the new year we’ll have premium (paid) profiles which will come with a range of benefits. More on those nearer the time (but basic profiles will always be free).
Jobplot was originally set up by Meshed Media and Substrakt. Creative Alliance are now on board too, which makes it a nice example of an arts organisation working with private companies on a commercial project (not a bad idea given current circumstances).
I’ve put a bit more info about Jobplot on the Meshed Media blog in case you’re interested.
In conclusion