Skills Bootcamps

Our two Skills Bootcamps began in August 2025 to bring tailored support to entrepreneurs, freelancers, employees and their businesses. By September 2026, we had delivered three rounds of Social Media and three rounds of Sales & Marketing Skills Bootcamps. 

“Now we’ve delivered 6 Skills Bootcamps, and with participants building their businesses, this is a great opportunity to reflect and celebrate what’s been achieved!” – Yvette Holden, Business Growth Account Manager for Selnet.

Sales & Marketing Skills Bootcamp Summary

• Duration: Each Sales & Marketing Skills Bootcamp ran for 12 weeks.
• Format: Online via Zoom.
• Schedule: 3 hour sessions, twice a week.
• Total Learning Hours: 72 hours of guided learning including developing a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable Relevant & Time-bound) business plan.

Alistair is a highly experienced trainer and accredited business advisor with extensive experience of supporting social businesses and private businesses to launch, grow and diversify their products and services.

The first 20 years of Alistair’s career were in broadcast radio so he enjoys advising creative companies and brings many skills to clients about marketing, communications and effective use of social media.

Alistair is a business friend who aspiring entrepreneurs can talk to, and to help ease their worry and stress of starting a new business. Through his professional experience, Alistair supports business leaders to gain the confidence to get out there and make their business work.

Client feedback on Alistair’s support:

“This course has massively succeeded my expectation. It’s full of helpful and easy to implement information so many things have been demystified as I have heard things I have never heard before in my previous sales training. The time absolutely flies by also because it’s so interesting!” – Samantha H

“I signed up because I thought, as an entrepreneur, I needed to learn the skills of running my own business and I have ended up absolutely loving the experience. This course is expertly run by Alistair Clarke MBE who makes it truly fascinating and leaves you feeling inspired to grow your business with warmth and humour thrown in. His knowledge of the industry and breadth of experience makes these sessions a really enjoyable part of the week. Yvette Holden’s excellent support with all the admin side is very much appreciated too.” – Julie M

Social Media Skills Bootcamp Summary

• Duration: Each Social Media Skills Bootcamp has run for 16 weeks.
• Format: Online via Zoom.
• Schedule: 4 hours, once a week.
• Total Learning Hours: 64 hours of guided learning including developing a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable Relevant & Time-bound) business plan.

Our Social Media Skills Bootcamp tutor was Lucie Higham!

Lucie is a highly experienced digital marketing specialist and a former journalist, with over 30 years’ experience and expertise in social media training and coaching.

Lucie’s Social Media Skills Bootcamp brought her passion, knowledge and real-life experience on how social media can be used – all for entrepreneurs to actively engage new clients, audiences and opportunities.

Client feedback on Lucie’s support:

“Taking part in this bootcamp has been an incredible journey of growth and self-discovery. I’ve learned so much about digital marketing, social media strategy, analytics, and audience engagement. Each session has given me practical tools and insights that I can immediately apply to my business and online presence. Our trainer and guest speakers have been inspiring, supportive, and genuinely passionate about helping us succeed. This experience has not only expanded my knowledge but also boosted my confidence to take real action — from improving my social media profiles and content strategy to understanding data and setting clear business goals. I’m truly grateful for the guidance, motivation, and community this bootcamp has provided.” – Dmitrijs L

“I almost didn’t sign up to the course because I hadn’t set up any business social media pages and thought it wouldn’t be useful. But I’m so glad I did as I’ve learnt so much! Lucie explains things clearly and is very supportive, and learning alongside others who are at different stages of their journey has been incredibly valuable. The course has helped me think about social media in a structured and manageable way, helping me feel far less overwhelmed and has given me the confidence to start setting up my business accounts and planning content that feels achievable.” – Tina C

Our Skills Bootcamps were delivered as part of the Government’s Skills for Life initiative.

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