CBMIC and The Province of Nova Scotia Workplace Education Spring/Summer Semester

Posted on: March 30, 2023

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The Cape Breton Music Industry Cooperative and the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration are offering entertainment tailored courses for our CBMIC membership and the Nova Scotia industry through Workplace Education and Training. The programs offered will provide the skills needed to manage their own companies, venues, festivals, events and professional careers. In addition, students in the 40-hour ten-week courses will receive a certificate from the Province of Nova Scotia that can be useful on resumes and future employment opportunities and invaluable tools for their music careers. These courses are open to all Nova Scotian Musicians and Entertainment professionals.

Spring/Summer offerings include:

• Social Media for Business – Level I – POSTPONED
• Proposal Writing – STARTED
• Project Management – STARTED
• Website Design – June 15th
• Content Marketing using AI – June 12th

Course information:

Website Design

Start Date: Thursday, June 15th, 2023
Time: Thursday evenings from 5:30pm – 9:30pm for 10 weeks totalling 40 hours
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Cost: Free
Prerequisite: None

Course Description:

If you have been wanting to know how to create and manage your own company’s website, Website Design (Level I) has your answers. You’ll begin by exploring various website creation options and costs; and proceed step-by-step so that you will know how to go from idea to website launch. (Please note that this program does NOT include an e-commerce store.)

Learning Outcomes (based on standardized content):

• Explore website creation options and costs (WordPress, Square, Squarespace, Wix, GoDaddy, MotoCMS)
• Identify the features of domains, hosts, and panels
• Install a website on a webhost
• Create and review design layouts and color patterns
• Create a website menu map and plan
• List current trends in website creation
• Create website pages linked to menus
• Identify the components of website branding
• Create a site map
• Register a website with Google My Business and Google Analytics
• Identify website file size rules
• Prepare photos for websites
• Apply metatags and alt text
• Create website content
• Describe the factors to consider when setting up security for websites

Standard Topics (minimum 32 hours): (all of this content must be delivered as a part of this program)

• Web creation options
• Web host versus domain registrar
• Installing website on host
• Website designs
• Menu options
• Pages and posts
• Adding images
• Adding video
• Landing pages
• Photo prep
• Website tracking/reporting tools 

Content Marketing using AI

Start Date: Monday, June 12th, 2023
Time: Monday evenings from 5:30pm – 9:30pm for 10 weeks totalling 40 hours
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Cost: Free
Prerequisite: None

Course Descriptiion

Are you tired of feeling invisible in the crowded marketplace? Do you want to establish your company as a top player in your industry? Look no further than Content Marketing using Artificial Intelligence (AI)!

Our course offers a comprehensive approach to content marketing that will confirm your company’s position in the marketplace. We start by exploring your targeted user profile for various social media platforms, finding the right fit between your offering and social media platforms, and using lead magnets in online marketing.

But that’s not all! We also delve deeper into identifying the 5+ categories for social media content, reviewing your strategic positioning in the marketplace, choosing the right social media platform, building a content marketing strategy, and creating a social media planner.

Discover how AI such as ChatGPT can streamline content creation, automating tedious tasks like keyword research and content optimization, freeing up your time and resources for more creative endeavors.

With our course, you’ll be equipped with the knowledge and skills to leverage the power of AI to enhance your content marketing strategy, stay ahead of the competition, and reach your audience more effectively than ever before. 

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to take your company’s marketing strategy to the next level. Join us today and watch your brand soar above the competition!

The following courses have started on May 10th but if you are interested please contact admin@cbmic.ca

Proposal Writing

Start Date: Wednesday, May 10th, 2023
Time: Wednesday mornings from 9:00am – 1:00pm for 10 weeks totalling 40 hours
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Cost: Free
Prerequisite:  None

Proposal Writing is the ideal Workplace Education program if you write proposals and/or respond to RFPs as a part of your role. By learning about the standard components of proposals, how to format a proposal, how to create graphs and budgets, and evaluate the effectiveness of your writing, you’ll be positioned to craft proposals that get results. You’ll also learn about ethical persuasion, reader-centred writing, the role of effective evidence, and how to overcome any barriers you may have with your writing.

Learning Outcomes:

•   Identify the different kinds of proposals
•   Listing sources of Requests for Proposals (RFPs)
•   Explain the structure of an effective proposal
•   Assemble persuasive evidence
•   Identify strategies for overcoming barriers to writing
•   Write using the persuasive power of plain language
•   List the universal principles of ethical persuasion
•   Demonstrate ethical persuasion in writing
•   Create graphs for proposals
•   Edit writing for clarity, conciseness and correctness
•   Creating a budget for a proposal
•   Compare and contrast the RFP evaluation criteria
•   Format a proposal

Standard Topics:

•   Types of proposals
•   Sources of RFPs
•   Standard components of proposals
•   Common sector-specific components of proposals
•   Formatting a proposal
•   Six aspects of effective evidence and their role in proposal writing
•   Plain language (including literacy issues)
•   Knowing your audience
•   Principles of persuasion in writing
•   Reader-centred vs. writer-centred writing
•   Overcoming barriers to writing
•   Self-editing
•   Creating and presenting through the proposal budget
•   RFP evaluation criteria
•   Graphics for proposals

Project Management

Start Date: Wednesday, May 10th, 2023
Time: Wednesday afternoons from 1:00pm – 5:00pm for 10 weeks totalling 40 hours
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Cost: Free
Prerequisite: None

Course Description:

Do you have a special project you want to tackle (updating your website, automating your inventory, reorganizing your filing cabinets, moving locations, or hosting an open house) and are not sure where to start? Are you heading a committee and want to ensure you meet your mandate with minimal hiccups and frustrations? Do you want your employees to have clear lines of communication and work effectively together to meet their targets on a shared initiative? Do you want the skills, knowledge and confidence to make a project as successful as you know it can be?

If you answered Yes to one or more of these questions, Project Management Essentials would be a smart investment of your time. Many business people think Project Management training is only for those working in large companies who head huge projects. Not true! Project Management is an essential skill that every business person could benefit from, understanding and applying inside their company every day.

This program is designed to provide you with the fundamentals of Project Management with hands-on, practical know-how. In fact, to make your learning as relevant as possible, participants are asked to choose their own project to apply throughout the course. As a participant you will learn how to:

• Determine the scope of your project and set up achievable goals
• Assign the right people for each task of the project and make sure they understand what is expected of them before the project starts
• Create a schedule for the project with key performance targets and estimated times for completion
• Develop a budget so you know what it is going to cost before you start
  Create a plan for communicating with everyone throughout the project so the team never feels they are out of the loop
• Assess the effectiveness of the project at the end so you can continue to apply best practices on future projects
• If this sounds like a smart way to invest 40 hours of your time so you have the knowledge, skills and techniques for help you build an even stronger business, Project Management Essentials is for you!

Learning Outcomes (based on standardized content):

•   List elements of the project life cycle
•   Determine the scope of the project
•   Set achievable project goals
•   Create a work breakdown structure
•   Create project targets and timelines
•   Assign resources to project tasks
•   Develop a project budget
•   Create a project Gantt chart
•   Develop a risk assessment
•   Create a communication plan

Standard Topics (minimum 32 hours: (all of this content must be delivered as a part of this program)

• What is a project
• Project life cycle
• Project charter
• Work breakdown structure
• Assigning resources
• Project budget
• Gantt chart
• Project risk
• Communication plan

Interchangeable Topics (maximum 8 hours: (choose from the topics in this list to complete the non-standardized portion of the program)

• Software options
• Stakeholder assessment
• Project monitoring

Start Date: TBA
Time: Monday afternoons from 1:00pm – 5:00pm for 10 weeks totalling 40 hours
Location: Virtual via Zoom
Cost: Free
Prerequisite:  None

Register your interest for future courses:

Social Media for Business is designed for you if you want to start from the beginning and develop a strong foundation for working in social media. While exploring the mainstream platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin. Google+ and Pinterest, you’ll learn how to create and schedule business posts as well as how to navigate these sites. You’ll also learn how to set up a social media manager such as Buffer or Hootsuite.

Learning Outcomes:

• Identify the five types of business posts (inspiration, advertising, internal, external, and shared success)
• Create a Twitter account
• Develop a Twitter strategy
• Create a Linkedin account
• Develop a LinkedIn strategy
• Create a Google+ account
• Develop a Google+ strategy
• Create an Instagram account ** (covered if time permits)
• Develop an Instagram strategy ** (covered if time permits)
• Create a Pinterest account ** (covered if time permits)
• Develop a Pinterest strategy ** (covered if time permits)
• Set up a social media manager (Buffer, Postcron, Hootsuite)
• Establish security protocols
• Explain insights from various platforms

Standard Topics:

• Facebook foundations
• Fundamentals of mainstream platforms (Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest)
• Setting up a social media platform
  Background settings (controlling the privacy and business setting needed to help google find you)
• Calls to action
• Accessing and analyzing insights
• Benchmarks and goals
• Security protocols